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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

By Simran Rede

MUMBAI – After a sharp fall in the domestic equity market Tuesday, traders aggressively sold call options of the Nifty 50 derivatives, implying further downside for the index Wednesday. Most negative global cues, such as rising threats of the tariff by US President Donald Trump and escalating tensions between the US and Iran, dampened the market sentiment, according to market participants.

Aggressive call writing was seen in the options chain of the Nifty 50 as the index breached its crucial level of 25400 points during the session Tuesday. However, the index settled over this level after coming off lows from its intraday low of 25327.60 points. Tuesday, the Nifty 50 settled at 25424.65, down 288.35 points or 1.1% and the BSE Sensex ended at 82225.92, down 1068.74 points or 1.3%. Wednesday, the Nifty 50 will find support at 25350-25300 points and face resistance at 25500-25600 points, according to analysts.

"Global trade and tariff worries resurfaced as well, with additional pressure arising from Trump's warnings on trade deals and reports of possible national security tariffs," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note. The escalation in geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, with the evacuation of embassy staff, and Iran's warning of wider regional escalation, added to the overall uncertainty in the market.

Shares of most fast-moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare companies closed higher as investors turned their investments towards defensive stocks in a weak market. "Overall, markets remain highly sensitive to geopolitical risks and sector-specific pressures, driving investors toward defensive, domestically focused segments," Nair of Geojit Investments, said in the note.

Premiums on deep out-of-the-money call contracts of the Nifty 50, expiring Mar. 2, fell over 50%, while those on some put strikes rose 40-60%. Traders also sold some put contracts, which implies that even if the index falls more, the likelihood of a steep fall is limited as investors may buy at lower levels, according to analysts. 

In the options chain of Nifty 50 of the new series expiring on Mar. 2, the maximum concentration of open interest was at the 25500 call and 25000 put. The highest addition of open interest was at the 25500 call and 23100 put option.

--Nifty 50 March closed at 25613.80, down 245.90 points; 189.15-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 April closed at 25767.50, down 247.50 points; 342.85-point premium to the spot index

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, IDFC FIRST Bank, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vodafone Idea, Sammaan Capital, Steel Authority of India, Eternal, ITC, Axis Bank, Hindustan Aeronautics, Vedanta, NTPC, and TVS Motor Co. were the most actively traded underlying stocks Tuesday.  End

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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