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Informist, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI – Investors turned cautious ahead of India-US trade talks due Tuesday and added short positions in most out-of-the-money call options expiring Tuesday, indicating limited upside in the Nifty 50. However, traders wrote out-of-the-money put options, implying a slight bullish sentiment in the market. Derivatives analysts expect volatility in Tuesday's session, largely due to the expiry of the weekly derivatives contract and updates on talks with the US on the trade deal.

 

The next call on the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement is likely on Tuesday, newly-appointed US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said on Monday. While there is optimism in the market that a major announcement on the trade deal's progress is imminent, some believe the final agreement will likely be a compromise rather than a leap for New Delhi.

 

On Monday, the Nifty 50 rebounded by around 300 points and closed at 25790.50. The 50-stock index closed higher after five consecutive sessions of losses, losing around 2.5% over the period. 

 

In the options chain, investors added short positions at the 26300 strike expiring Tuesday, indicating a hit in bullish sentiment. On the other hand, traders bought the 25800 call expiring this week, which saw the highest increase in open interest, suggesting the Nifty 50 index may end at such levels on expiry day. While on the put side, people unwound long positions across out-of-the-money contracts expiring this week. Traders wrote 25500-25700 put strike, indicating limited downside. For contracts expiring next week, the derivatives chain implied that investors added long positions in the 25800 call and unwound long positions at the same put strike, indicating indecision among traders.

 

--Nifty 50 January closed at 25880.00, up 91.70 points; 89.75-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 February closed at 26020.00, up 86.40 points; 229.75-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 March closed at 26195.00, up 70.70 points; 405.45-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, BSE, Tata Consultancy Services, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Avenue Supermarts, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, Vedanta, National Aluminium Co., Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hindalco Industries, Axis Bank, Infosys, Hindustan Zinc, Tata Steel, Manappuram, Coal India, Laurus Labs, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Eternal, Adani Enterprises, Larsen & Toubro were the most actively traded underlying stocks.  End

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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