More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, May 6, 2025

By Anjana Therese Antony

MUMBAI – Downside bets were placed in Coal India's options chain ahead of the company's March quarter results on Wednesday. The state-owned company is likely to post weak earnings growth due to flat sales and a decline in its average price realisation per tonne of coal sold amid tepid demand, according to broking firms. 

The stock closed almost 2% lower at INR 378.25 Tuesday on the National Stock Exchange. Traders added short bets in the futures and options segment of Coal India. The stock has fallen almost 2.7% in the last seven days and 18% in 52 weeks. Around 6 million shares of the company traded Tuesday, down 6% from the previous session. The near-term support for the stock is seen at INR 350-INR 340 and resistance at INR 395-INR 405, according to a senior technical analyst at a domestic broking firm.

Open interest in the May and June series rose 3% and over 7% respectively to around 58 million and 2 million. Premiums on INR 375-INR 400 call options expiring on May 29 fell 30-42% and those on INR 375-INR 315 put strikes increased 46-100%. The highest addition of open interest was at INR 385 call and INR 350 put options. 

The company's consolidated net profit is expected to fall almost 8% on year to INR 80.2 billion and revenue is expected to fall over 2% to INR 365.5 billion, according to an average of estimates from 12 broking houses. Sequentially, this would be a 6% fall in the bottom line, while the top line would rise 2%. Although the company's sales volume at e-auctions increased 22% on year to 21.5 million tonnes, prices increased only 2% on year to INR 2,545 per tonne, Nuvama Wealth Management said in a report. 

The overall Indian equity market is unlikely to see volatile movement ahead of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy outcome, due after market hours Wednesday. While the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates steady at 4.25-4.50% for the third time in a row, market participants will closely monitor Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments and outlook on the US economy and inflation. The policy outcome gains prominence amid uncertainty about the next leg of US tariffs and worries about a likely recession in the world's largest economy. 

However, foreign investors showing increasing interest towards the domestic market and reducing their bearish positions have been among the near-term positive factors for market participants. "Now, with FIIs turning bullish across both cash and derivatives segments, the return of foreign capital marks a significant tailwind," Bajaj Broking said in a report. 

--Nifty 50 May closed at 24415.00, down 138.70 points; 35.40-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 Jun closed at 24517.50, down 141.40 points; 137.90-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 Jul closed at 24662.80, down 134.10 points; 283.20-point premium to the spot index

Bank of Baroda, Polycab India, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Coforge, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Indian Hotels Co., Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, BSE Ltd., Hindustan Aeronautics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharat Electronics, Tata Steel, and Central Depository Services India were the most active underlying stocks Tuesday.  End

Edited by Saji George Titus

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.