INDICES PARE LOSSES, OIL & GAS SHARES DECLINES

The key equity barometers pared losses and traded with minor gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above 21,700 level. Oil & gas shares witnessed profit booking after rising in the past five trading sessions.

At 12:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 21.21 points or 0.09% to 22,801. The Nifty 50 index added 22.95 points or 0.11% to 21,740.90.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index declined 1.36% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap fell 1.63%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,050 shares rose and 2,707 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE`s India VIX, a gauge of the market`s expectation of volatility over the near term, shed 0.60% to 15.73. The Nifty 29 February 2024 futures were trading at 21,807, at a premium of 61.25 points as compared with the spot at 21,745.75.

The Nifty option chain for the 29 February 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 48.1 lakh contracts at the 23,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 36.2 lakh contracts were seen at 21,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index declined 1.72% to 11,502.55. The index rallied 9.10% in last five trading sessions.

Gujarat State Petronet (down 5.36%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 5.02%), GAIL (India) (down 4.92%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 4.5%), Gujarat Gas (down 3.75%), Oil & Natural Gas Corpn (down 3.13%), Petronet LNG (down 2.89%), Aegis Logistics (down 2.34%), Indraprastha Gas (down 1.78%) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 1.77%).

On the other hand, Castrol India (up 0.96%) and Reliance Industries (up 0.96%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Patanjali Foods slipped 4.65% after the FMCG company�s standalone net profit fell 19.56% to Rs 216.54 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 269.19 crore posted in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations declined marginally to Rs 7,910.70 crore in the third quarter of FY24 as against 7,926.64 crore posted in Q3 FY23.

AstraZeneca Pharma India dropped 14.47% after the company`s consolidated net profit tumbled 46.08% to Rs 15.80 crore in Q3 FY24 as compared with Rs 29.30 crore in Q3 FY23. Revenue from operations jumped 22.41% to Rs 305.78 crore during the quarter as compared with Rs 249.81 crore posted in corresponding quarter last year.

TVS Supply Chain Solutions declined 1.01%. The company informed that TVS Supply Chain Solutions Australia Holding (TVS Australia) has signed a settlement agreement with Meyertran, Philptran and Mortrois in relation to certain disputes which had arisen between the parties thereto, in connection with the amounts payable by TVS Australia under a share sale agreement (SSA), as consideration towards acquisition of a stake in T.I.F. Holdings, Australia.

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