Market turns rangebound; media shares advance, VIX drops nearly 12%

The frontline indices traded in a narrow range with substantial gains in early afternoon trade. The Nifty traded above the 24,200 level. Media shares advanced after declining in the previous three consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 545.01 points or 0.69% to 79,304.41. The Nifty 50 index added 167.45 points or 0.70% to 24,223.05.

The broader market outperformed the headline indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 1.29% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.32%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,584 shares rose and 1,214 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, tumbled 11.53% to 18.02.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, dropped 11.95% to 17.93. The Nifty 29 August 2024 futures were trading at 24,270, at a premium of 46.95 points as compared with the spot at 24,223.05

The Nifty option chain for the 29 August 2024 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 36 lakh contracts at the 25,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 41.7 lakh contracts were seen at 24,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Media index gained 2.41% to 2,052.55. The index fell 6.88% in past three consecutive trading sessions.

Network 18 Media & Investments (up 7.53%), Saregama India (up 4.71%), TV18 Broadcast (up 3.12%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 2.92%), Nazara Technologies (up 2.2%), Tips Industries (up 2.06%), Dish TV India (up 1.68%), PVR Inox (up 0.63%), Hathway Cable & Datacom (up 0.28%) and Sun TV Network (up 0.05%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight :

BLS International Services surged 7.99% after the company’s consolidated net profit jumped 70.16% to Rs 120.78 crore in Q1 FY25 as compared with Rs 70.98 crore in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations jumped 28.47% YoY to Rs 492.66 crore during the quarter.

AXISCADES Technologies jumped 6.62% after the company reported a net profit of Rs 17 crore in Q1 FY25, which is nearly three times as compared with the PAT of Rs 6 crore recorded in Q1 FY24. Revenue from operations amounted to Rs 223 crore for the quarter, up 4.5% YoY.