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Informist, Friday, Mar. 20, 2026

 

By Simran Rede

 

MUMBAI – After a volatile session on Friday where the Nifty 50 logged some gains to end the week on a positive note, technical and derivatives analysts expect the index to be in range next week amid the West Asia war. Investors are cautious about placing bullish bets amid war-related uncertainties.

 

Strong put writing at a 23000-point strike suggests a rare possibility that the index could fall below this level. However, call writing at multiple strikes suggests a range-bound market in the near term. The put-call ratio for the contracts expiring Tuesday is still negative, indicating a sell-on-rise trading approach, Vipin Kumaar, senior technical and derivatives analyst at Globe Capital Market, said.

 

"A PCR (put call ratio) of 0.9–1 and India VIX at 22 indicate elevated volatility ahead," Vatsal Bhuva, technical analyst at LKP Securities, said. The India VIX, the market's fear gauge, closed largely flat at 22.8125. The Nifty 50 ended 0.5% higher at 23114.50 points and the BSE Sensex closed 0.4% higher at 74532.96 points.

 

The immediate resistance for the 50-stock index is placed around 23380-23600 points and key supports are around 23000-22800 points. The index is likely to move within a broad range of 23000-24000 points, technical analysts said. 

 

In the options chain of the Nifty 50, premiums on 23800-24500 call strikes expiring Tuesday declined 12-41% and open interest for these contracts increased over 1 million, hinting at the addition of short positions. Premiums on 22000-20850 put options increased 55-68%. The maximum open interest addition was at the 23800-point call and 22000-point put options, while the highest concentration was at the 25000-point call and 21000-point put.

 

--Nifty 50 March closed at 23146.00, up 91.20 points; 31.50-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 April closed at 23276.00, up 77.60 points; 161.50-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 May closed at 23418.00, up 85.00 points; 303.50-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Infosys, Shriram Finance, BSE, Hindalco Industries, National Aluminium Co., Tata Power Co., ITC, Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Coal India, Eternal, Axis Bank, LTIMindtree, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. were the most actively traded underlying stocks Friday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 93.71

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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