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Informist, Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2026

 

By Simran Rede

 

MUMBAI – The options chain of the Nifty 50 hints at a further upside for the index in the near term, though the quantum of its rise would be slower in the absence of major triggers. A correction of crude oil prices supported the rise in equities Wednesday as concerns around oil supply eased after the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz was lifted this week but uncertainty regarding peace negotiations between the US and Iran continue to pose a downside risk for a substantial rise in the index.

 

Oil prices moderated after rising above $100 per barrel as the oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz recovered to around one-third of its normal level so far in June, with confirmed flows reaching around 4.8 million barrels, according to the Dow Jones Newswires. This comes after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed to end the war. "The recovery has been driven by a combination of resumed Iranian exports, the release of non-Iranian cargoes stranded inside the Gulf for more than three months, and continued movements by vessels operating without active tracking signals," the report cited Kpler's Analyst Yui Torikata.

 

Premiums across put and call options expiring Tuesday declined, indicating the index is likely to move in a small range. However, traders also bought some call contracts, suggesting hopes of a further rise in the index in the near term. 

 

The Indian stock market recovered almost 16% from the lowest level reached after the commencement of the US-Iran war but is still nearly 5% lower than the pre-war level. Wednesday, the index closed more than 0.8% higher as investors covered their short positions which were placed after Tuesday's fall, analysts said. The index still continues to face strong resistance at 24100 points and analysts say that the index needs to close above this to make a substantial upmove in the near term.

 

Most banking and information technology stocks gained momentum Wednesday and were among the top gainers in the market. "The clarity in the FCNR(B) deposit swap scheme provided momentum to banking stocks, IT stocks gained on reinforcing commentary that Indian vendors remain indispensable implementation partners for enterprise-wide mid- and back-office AI (artificial intelligence) adoption," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note.  

 

Support for the Nifty 50 is seen at 23900-23800 points and resistance at 24200-24500 points, according to technical and derivatives analysts. On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 closed 0.8% higher at 24021.65 points and the Sensex closed 1% higher at 76991.22 points. The easing of investor nervousness is evident from the 4?ll in fear gauge India VIX to 13.3850 on Wednesday. "Sentiment was supported by optimism surrounding the near-finalisation of the India-US interim trade agreement ahead of the 24 July tariff deadline, favourable global cues, and softer crude oil prices," Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said in a note.

 

Premiums on 24050-24400 call options expiring Tuesday rose 26-68% but those on 24700-25100 strikes fell 16-31%. On the put side, premiums on 24000-23800 contracts declined 56-65%. The highest addition of open interest was at 24500-point call and 23900-point put contracts. In monthly contracts expiring Tuesday, the maximum open interest addition was at 25000-point call and 24000-point put strikes.

 

In the futures contracts, traders covered their short positions in the June series while adding long bets in the July futures. The open interest of the June series fell 3% to over 15 million contracts and that of the July series rose more than 85% to over 6 million contracts. 

 

--Nifty 50 June closed at 24053.60, up 201.10 points; 31.95-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 July closed at 24138.00, up 187.60 points; 116.35-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 August closed at 24250.00, up 179.50 points; 228.35-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Trent, HCL Technologies, and State Bank of India were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.6650

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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