NIFTY ABOVE 25,450 MARK; PRIVATE BANK SHARES IN DEMAND; VIX RISES 3.33%

The headline equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled above the 25,450 mark after hitting the day�s low of 25,380.80 in morning trade. Private bank shares extended gains for the fifth consecutive trading session.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 215.93 points or 0.26% to 83,304.57. The Nifty 50 index rose 58.55 points or 0.23% to 25,477.10.

The Sensex and Nifty clocked an all-time high of 83,315.93 and 25,481.60, respectively in early afternoon trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.33% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index declined 0.15%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,745 shares rose and 2,103 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, gained 3.33% to 13.01. The Nifty 26 September 2024 futures were trading at 25,500.80, at a premium of 23.70 points as compared with the spot at 25,477.10.

The Nifty option chain for the 26 September 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 47 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 114.2 lakh contracts were seen at 25,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Private Bank index rose 1.08% to 26,532.90. The index rallied 3.68% in five consecutive trading sessions.

Bandhan Bank (up 2.35%), HDFC Bank (up 1.58%), ICICI Bank (up 1.29%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.02%), Federal Bank (up 0.91%), Axis Bank (up 0.7%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.35%), RBL Bank (up 0.34%) and City Union Bank (up 0.04%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Reliance Infrastructure rallied 5.22% after the company announced significant progress in settling its outstanding debts from Rs 3,831 crore to Rs 475 crore.

Ceigall India jumped 5.10% after the company said that it has emerged as lowest bidder (L1) for two projects in Uttar Pradesh for an aggregate value of Rs 2,498.5 crore.

Vishnu Chemicals shed 0.29%. The company announced that it has resumed operations at Visakhapatnam plant, which was stopped for scheduled maintenance.

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