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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 16, 2026

MUMBAI – Traders cut their long positions and added short positions in options contracts of the Nifty 50 index. Sentiment was hit after the Nifty 50 faced selling pressure at higher levels Thursday after making a sharp recovery Wednesday.

"After the sharp rally in recent sessions, investors are taking a cautious approach ahead of the fresh peace talks between the US and Iran," Ankur Punj, managing director and business head at Equirus Wealth, said in a note. The Nifty 50 index had opened higher but soon came under selling pressure to end 0.8% lower from its intraday high. The index ended the session at 24196.75 points, down marginally from Wednesday.

Market participants are hopeful the US-Iran conflict may end soon as media reports have claimed the two countries are likely to take part in a second round of peace talks. However, the uncertainty around the talks and mixed messages from the US, Iran, and Israel have kept traders on the edge.

Considering the selling pressure at higher levels, traders sold call options across the board. They added short positions in out-of-the-money contracts and cut long positions in in-the-money contracts. The highest addition of open interest was seen at the 24400 strike price, suggesting that the Nifty 50 may continue to face resistance at this level in the near term.

Positions on the put side also suggest that the index is likely to face resistance even on slight gains as traders bought in-the-money contracts. However, traders sold out-of-the-money put options, indicating limited downside for the index. The highest addition of open interest was at the 23200 strike price. The highest open interest was at 23000 points. "In light of this rapid upward movement, a phase of consolidation within the range of 23,400 to 24,400 cannot be ruled out in the near term," Bajaj Broking said in a note.

--Nifty 50 April closed at 24186.30, down 51.40 points; 10.45-point discount to the spot index

--Nifty 50 May closed at 24304.00, down 59.80 points; 107.25-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 June closed at 24480.20, down 42.10 points; 283.45-point premium to the spot index

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Dixon Technologies (India), Bharat Heavy Electricals, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, BSE, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Aeronautics, Hindalco Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, and Eternal were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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