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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

 

By Anshul Choudhary

 

MUMBAI – Derivatives data suggest it will be difficult for the benchmark Nifty 50 index to rise significantly in the coming sessions as global uncertainties are pushing traders to take even small profits. This is what happened in the market Wednesday as the Nifty 50 fell 170 points, or 0.7%, from its intraday high, resulting in traders cutting long positions and even adding short positions.

 

There is uncertainty around US tariffs and trade deal agreements after the US Supreme Court Friday struck down most tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in 2025. After the court's order, Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all US goods imports for 150 days. The new tariff came into effect Tuesday. Trump has threatened to raise the baseline tariff to 15% but is yet to sign an executive order to implement the higher rate.

 

The Nifty 50 had fallen more than 1% Tuesday amid the confusion around tariffs. The bulls attempted to push the markets up after Tuesday's sharp fall, but the 50-stock index managed to gain only 0.2% Wednesday and close at 25482.50 points.

 

Selling at higher levels in the market pushed traders to add short positions at out-of-the-money and at-the-money call options. Call options between 25500 and 26000 strike prices had open interest of around 8 million each, suggesting the index will continue to face selling pressure at higher levels. 

 

Wednesday's sharp intraday gains did raise hopes that the Nifty 50 may not fall sharply immediately. Traders added long positions across put option contracts. Significant addition of open interest was seen at strike prices between 25300 and 25500 points, indicating that the Nifty 50 may not fall below 25300 points in the coming session.

 

"February expiry (of Nifty 50 futures) recorded the lowest rollover of the past one year at 68%, compared with 71% in January and the three-month average of 71%," according to a report by Systematix Shares and Stocks. "The combination of lower rollover, reduced open interest and softer cost of carry points toward long unwinding rather than fresh short buildup, suggesting that the earlier bearish conviction has moderated and leveraged positions have been trimmed at the index level."

 

Options data showed there is some hope the index will see only a slight fall from here. However, the Nifty 50 can fall to 25000 points if the index fails to rise above the 25500-point mark soon.

 

--Nifty 50 March closed at 25624.90, up 24.60 points; 142.40-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 April closed at 25791.00, up 22.20 points; 308.50-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 May closed at 25904.30, up 54.00 points; 421.80-point premium to the spot index

 

Infosys, Waaree Energies, State Bank of India, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Vedanta, Eternal, Multi Commodity Exchange, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Persistent Systems, Steel Authority of India, and Hero MotoCorp were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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