Nifty closes below 17,500; Hindalco, Divis Labs, and Reliance emerge as top losers

JSW Steel, Britannia, and M&M emerged as the top gainers among Nifty stocks

Market update at 3.30 PM: Nifty closed marginally lower by about 0.19 per cent at 17,464.75 while Sensex lost about 115 points. However, Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap closed marginally higher.  

Among the sectoral indices, Nifty FMCG gained over a per cent while Nifty Pharma and Nifty PSU Bank closed nearly a per cent lower. JSW Steel, Britannia, and M&M emerged as the top gainers among Nifty stocks while Hindalco, Divi’s Labs as well as Reliance were the top losers. With this, India VIX has closed marginally lower at 20.53.  

Market update at 2 PM: Indices are trading flat amid volatility. Nifty has slipped below the 17,500-level and trades about 30 points lower. Meanwhile, Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap are trading marginally higher.   

FMCG stocks are trading higher while pharma and PSU bank stocks are lower today.  

For today’s expiry, the 17,500 call option is written aggressively. Max Pain currently stands at 17450; thus, Nifty is likely to end the March series near this level. 

Market update at 11.15 AM: Indices continue to trade higher amid volatility while Nifty is currently up by 25 points. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap are trading higher by 0.50 per cent & 0.76 per cent, respectively.  

Among the sectors, FMCG, financials, and auto are trading higher while pharma & IT are marginally down. M&M, JSW Steel, and IOC are currently the top gainers among Nifty stocks while Hindalco & Bharti Airtel are weak today.   

Nifty trades at a crucial 17,500-mark while price action is keenly watched.  

Market update at 9.25 AM: Indices have opened higher and Nifty is currently trading higher by 0.20 per cent while Sensex gained over 90 points.  

Among the sectors, media, FMCG, and auto are trading higher while PSU banks and realty are weak in the early hours. With this, India VIX has slipped by half a per cent.

Pre-market update: Last night, the US markets closed lower with NASDAQ slipping about 1.21 per cent while Dow Jones lost around 65 points. However, the Asian markets have opened mixed, and SGX nice indicates modest gains of 29 points for Nifty.
In the last trading session, both the FIIs as well as DIIs turned buyers and bought for about Rs 1,357 crore & Rs 1,216 crore, respectively.
Crude oil has further slipped about 4 & a half per cent and trades below the 103-mark. 

Meanwhile, Nifty is likely to open around 17,500, and volatility is expected to persist.