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Informist, Monday, Apr. 20, 2026

 

By Simran Rede

 

MUMBAI - An uptick in crude oil prices on renewed tensions between the US and Iran saw traders adding cautious bets to the options chain of the Nifty 50. Uncertainty increased after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, again raising concerns of supply chain disruptions.

 

This closure of the major West Asian waterway for crude oil deliveries has injected volatility in global markets. "Investors interpreted the recent disruptions in the Middle East (West Asia) as potential negotiation tactics rather than the onset of a full-scale conflict," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said in a note. "With the ceasefire set to expire this week, market participants remain cautious, awaiting further developments."

 

Small bits of buying by foreign institutional investors in recent sessions following the start of the March quarter earnings has provided some support amid global uncertainty surrounding the next round of negotiations between the US and Iran, according to analysts.

 

While traders added short positions on the call side of the Nifty 50's options chain, they also unwound some long positions. On the other hand, they sold put options at multiple strikes and also covered some short positions on the put side, indicating a rangebound movement of the index Tuesday. 

 

Premiums on out-of-the-money call contracts fell as much as 50% and those on put contracts above the spot level declined 20-70%. On the call side, 24400-25100 strikes of the Nifty 50 saw the highest addition of open interest, indicating that the near-term upside for the index is expected to be limited. The highest concentration of open interest continued to be at the 25000 strike price.

 

On the put side, out-of-the-money strikes saw a fall in premiums, indicating a slightly positive bias, which will limit any fall in the market. The maximum concentration of open interest was at the 23500-strike put, which saw an addition of over 2 million. Premiums on out-of-the-money put options at 24000-23000 strikes fell 23-64%.

 

Monday, the Nifty 50 ended at 24364.85 points, up 11.30 points or 0.1%. Tuesday, the 50-stock index is expected to move between 24450 and 24350 points, Vatsal Bhuva, technical and derivatives analyst at LKP Securities, said. "Overall, the setup suggests a range-bound expiry in tomorrow's session," he said.

 

Going forward, a peaceful settlement between the US and Iran could be the next big trigger for the market. The March quarter earnings will also provide cues to investors.

 

--Nifty 50 April closed at 24312.00, down 56.00 points; 52.85-point discount to the spot index

--Nifty 50 May closed at 24450.00, down 50.40 points; 85.15-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 June closed at 24590.00, down 63.00 points; 225.15-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Reliance Industries, Aurobindo Pharma, BSE, Bharti Airtel, YES Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Persistent Systems, Axis Bank, Jio Financial Services, Power Finance Corp., Adani Power, Vodafone Idea, Tata Power, HCL Technologies, and Trent were the most actively traded underlying stocks Monday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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