Nifty closes above 18,300; auto, FMCG, media, realty, and PSU banks gain

Market update at 3.30 PM: Nifty traded firmly in green in the second half of the session and closed above 18,300. In the end, it went up by 0.29 per cent while Sensex surged about 178 points. It was a broad-based rally as Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap climbed 0.16 per cent & 0.60 per cent, respectively.   

The auto sector outperformed the other sectors with Nifty Auto surging nearly 2 per cent. Along with the auto index, the indices of FMCG, media, realty, and PSU banks ended higher whereas, banking, IT & pharma were weak today.  

Hero MotoCorp emerged as the top gainer, jumping by about 5 per cent while HCL Technologies remained weaker and fell about 5.77 per cent after its results.  

The highest open interest stood at 19,000 as well as 18,300 on the call side while 17,000 and 18,000 hold maximum open interest on the put side. Interestingly, we have seen the unwinding of open interest in 18,200 calls and put strikes, and the same has been shifted to 18,300, which states that the market is likely to trade near 18,300 for the next few days.  

Market update at 1.15 PM: Nifty went marginally up by 0.2 per cent and is hovering around the key level of 18,300. Also, Sensex has gained about 150 points.  

Nifty Auto has been the top outperformer among the sectoral indices and is up by nearly 2 per cent with Hero MotoCorp surging over 5 per cent. Maruti and Bajaj Auto have also jumped over 2 per cent each.  

Meanwhile, banking, pharma, and the metal indices are trading lower.  

Huge straddle positions have been created at 18,300, which mean that market might not move much from here.  

Market update at 10.15 AM: Nifty opened about 20 points lower and has been trading range-bound with a positive bias. In the initial one hour, Nifty tested 18,300 levels but fell thereafter. Meanwhile, Sensex has gained nearly 150 points.  

HCL Tech has fallen over 5 per cent and is the top loser among Nifty stocks. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank has slipped nearly a per cent.  

Among the sectoral indices, auto, media, PSU bank, and financial services are trading positively whereas Nifty Bank, IT, pharma, and FMCG are trading with flat to negative bias. Also, India VIX has surged over 3 per cent.  

The 18,300 is a key level to watch out for as the index trading above this level will bring bullish sentiment for the rest of the day.  

Pre-market update: On Friday, the US Markets ended mixed and thus, we see a follow-up as most of the Asian markets are trading in green whereas, Hong Kong & Indonesian markets are trading negatively. SGX Nifty is trading lower by about 70 points, and hence, we can expect Nifty to open around 18,200. 

On Monday morning, Crude oil witnessed a jump of over 2 per cent on supply tightness. Meanwhile, Brent Crude climbed more than its 3-year high. 

HDFC Bank posted its quarterly result on Saturday, which saw the bank’s profit rise by 18 per cent. Net interest income of the bank has grown to Rs 18,444 crore. The results have been in line with the expectations. However, the IT company i.e. HCL Technologies witnessed a fall of 13.6 per cent in its consolidated profit due to the weaker December quarter. Also, UltraTech Cement will be declaring its results today. Thus, these stocks will be the centre of attraction today. 

In the last trading session, the FIIs sold for Rs 1,598 crore whereas, the DIIs bought around Rs 371 crore worth of equity. 

With Nifty opening lower, the initial hour becomes an important period to check whether Nifty shows recovery or remain weaker for the rest of the day.