Mkts choppy: banks, Infosys, SAIL dip, auto, cement up

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The markets have seen a flat opening and are trading with volatility. Among frontliners, ICICI Bank, Zee Entertainment, Cairn, Infosys, HDFC Bank, SAIL, SBI, GAIL, HDFC and Sterlite are losers. However, Ranbaxy, Maruti, Reliance Industries, Bharti, BPCL, Tata Motors, NTPC, Tata Steel, Ambuja Cements and Grasim have gained.

At 9:56 am, the Sensex was trading at 8,613, up 6.34 points and the Nifty was at 2,678, up 3.5 points. However, CNX Midcap 100 fell 9 points, to 3,103. Nifty March Futures were trading with 20 points discount.

Asian markets have recoverd from day's low and are trading mixed. Shanghai and Hang Seng fell 1.3-1.5%. Nikkei and Taiwan are down marginally. However, Straits Times and Kospi have gained 0.5-0.7%. Jakarta Composite rose 1.1%.

The Dow Jones has slipped below 7,000 mark for the first time since 1997, as AIG reported worst loss (USD 61.7 billion loss in Q4) by any US corporation and crude tumbled over 10% below USD 40 a barrel.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 300 points or 4.2%, to close at 6,763 and the S&P 500 ended just above 700 level, which shed 4.7% or 35 points, to 700.8. The Nasdaq dropped 4% or 55 points at 1,322.8.

Commodities

Nymex April crude tumbled 10% to below $40/bbl.
Gold declined for 6th session and fell 0.3% to $940/ounce.
Copper declined 1%.

Market cues:

FIIs net sell USD 67 million in equity on February 27
MFs net buy Rs 276 crore in equity on February 27
NSE F&O OI up by Rs 2,526 cr to Rs 48,067crore
SBI cuts deposit rates by 40-50 bps; peak rate cut from 9% to 8.5%

F&O cues:

Nifty down 3.2%, Futures Open Int up 5%
Nifty March Futures trading at 35 pt discount versus 28 pt
Total Futures Open Int up by Rs 313 crore, Total Options Open Int up by Rs 2,212 crore
Nifty IVs at 39-45% levels
Nifty Open Int Put Call Ratio down from 1.4 to 1.36
Nifty Calls add 24.7 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty Puts add 39 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty March 2500 put adds 18.3 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty March 2600 put adds 14.8 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty March 2700 call adds 11.8 lakh shares in Open Int
Nifty March 2800 Call adds 7.94 lakh shares in Open Int
Stock Futures add 1.97 cr shares in Open Int