Finance

ETMarkets After Hours: RCom, JPA snap 4-day rally; 125 stocks at 52-week highs

NEW DELHI: Volatility was expected to rise in stocks in 2018..

Published

January 1, 2018

NEW DELHI: Volatility was expected to rise in stocks in 2018. But a strong selloff on the very first day of the New Year took many traders by surprise, as cues were scanty with most global markets closed for the day.

Sensex lost 244 points, or 0.72 per cent, to settle at 33,812, while the Nifty50 lost 95 points, or 0.90 per cent to end at 10,435. Was it a case of basket selling? Or was it an alarm for more such jitters to come in the days ahead given the widening gap between earnings and valuation.

Let's look at the stocks that made news all through Monday:

Profit booking drags JP Associates
Shares of Jaiprakash Associates tumbled over 3 per cent on account of profit booking after the recent rally. The scrip closed 3.46 per cent down at Rs 25.10. The scrip had advanced over 40 per cent during December 22 and December 29.

Higher highs
After making a remarkable debut on the bourses on Friday, shares of Astron Paper & Board Mill hit the upper circuit on the second day of trade on Monday. The scrip surged 4.97 per cent to Rs 125.65 on January 1, 2018 after making a spectacular debut on Friday, when it had surged over two-fold from its issue price of Rs 50.

Rising volatility
India VIX, the volatility index on the NSE, advanced over 5 per cent to 13.3525. The index measures the market's expectation of volatility in the near term. If it surges, it signifies a rise in near-term volatility and vice versa.

@fresh 52-week high
Over 125 stocks on NSE scaled fresh 52-week highs. The list included 3i Infotech, Adani Enterprises, Alankit, DB Realty, Ganesh Housing Corporation, Hexa Tradex, HEG, Graphhite India and Jindal Steel and Power.

Spurt in open interest
Shares of Reliance Naval witnessed the biggest spike in open interest at 100.09 per cent, followed by Reliance Power (32.79 per cent) and Reliance Communications (17.38 per cent).

RCom snaps 4-day rally
Shares of Reliance Communication snapped four-day rally on account of profit booking. The scrip, which had advanced 98 per cent during December 22 and December 29, closed 2.26 per cent down at Rs 35.40 on Friday.