Nifty closed on a flat note; Banking stocks underperformed

Markets witnessed a lacklustre day of trade as majority of the opening gains were taken off during the closing part of the trade.

Bank Nifty marginally underperformed the Nifty index by 0.7%, closing lower for sixth consecutive trading session.

Nifty Metal index closed ~4.5% higher as strong rally was seen in its major heavyweight stocks like Hindalco, Jindal Steel & Tata Steel.

Midcap 100 index closed ~1% higher.

Market breadth ended in the favour of the advances with the advance/decline ratio closing at 2:1x. Bank Nifty saw an addition of short positions during the day.

On the options front (February 25, 2021 expiry), across the board option writing was seen in call option strikes as Bank Nifty trended lower. India Vix index closed at 25.2, down ~2%.