SGX Nifty zooms 168 points, hints positive start for indices; 5 things to know before market opens

Nifty futures were trading 168 points higher at 13,431 on Singaporean Exchange, indicating a gap-up start for BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 on Tuesday. In the previous session, headline indices tumbled 3 per cent, breaking the six-day gaining streak, after the UK reported a new strain of the COVID-19 virus. Investors will keep tabs on newsflow related to new COVID strain, and the government’s response to it. Also, development around the coronavirus vaccine will be watched by market participants. “We’ve been maintaining a cautious on markets and reiterate the same for the following sessions too. The recent spurt of COVID cases in the UK has spooked the markets world over as the new variant could increase the transmission rate. Now, the next step is strict travel restrictions, which would dent the economic recovery,” said Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Also read- Stocks in focus: Burger King, Birlasoft, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Antony Waste, Coal India, Canara Bank

Bulk deals: Vaibhav Stock and Derivatives Broking Private Ltd bought 19.29 lakh shares of Burger King at Rs 161.21 per share. The company sold the same at Rs 161.28 apiece, according to the NSE bulk deals. Invesco Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, bought 20 lakh shares each of Birladoft at Rs 205.15 per share. While Acacia II Partners L.P. sold 67.11 lakh shares of the company at Rs 205.15 per share.

FII and DII data: On the first day of the week, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 323.55 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 486.12 crore on a net basis in the Indian equity, according to the provisional data available on the NSE.

Global watch: Asian stock markets were trading lower as new COVID strain weighed on investor sentiment. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.47 per cent while the Topix index slipped 0.9 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi losr 0.37 per cent. In overnight trade on Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed lower on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.12 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.39 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.1 per cent.

Call, Put option data: For the December series, maximum Call Open Interest is still placed at 13,000 strike with 21.42 lakh contracts but Call unwinding was seen at the said levels. This is followed by 13,500 strike with 20.65 lakh contracts. Put OI is the most at 13,000 strike with 39.75 lakh contracts, followed by 26.63 lakh contracts at 13,500 strike.

Technical talk: “Technically, with the Nifty correcting sharply and closing below the crucial supports of 13447, the index is now in a short term downtrend. Immediate supports are now at 13131. Any pullback rallies could find resistance at 13447-13500,” said Subash Gangadharan, Technical and Derivative Analyst, HDFC Securities.