Equity Futures
More pain seen for Nifty 50 as West Asia tensions escalate
This story was originally published at 18:14 IST on 22 April 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026
By Simran Rede
MUMBAI – The rise in tensions in West Asia and the seizure of two vessels for disrupting order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz led to a sell-off in global equity markets, including India, with the impact evident in the Nifty 50 derivatives chain. This resulted in a rise in crude oil prices Wednesday. Premiums on deep out-of-the-money call options fell almost 50% and those on out-of-the-money put contracts close to the spot level rose.
US President Donald Trump had announced an extension of the temporary ceasefire just before its scheduled expiration. However, the Trump-led administration remains certain that a naval blockade of Iranian ports will force Tehran to submit a proposal for talks. Trump had announced a blockade to saturate Kharg Island's storage capacity and ultimately force the shutdown of Iran's "fragile oil wells", Mint reported.
Renewed tensions in West Asia pushed up crude oil prices to near the psychologically important $100 per barrel. At 1557 IST, the June contract of Brent crude futures on the Intercontinental Exchange was 1.1% higher at $99.59 per barrel.
The negative impact of rising tension was also seen in the cash market and the options chain of Nifty 50 derivatives. Traders wrote call contracts at multiple strikes expiring Tuesday. They also bought fresh put options, adding to the bearish undertone. "Nifty options data have turned sideways," Vipin Kumaar, derivatives and technical analyst at Globe Capital Market, said.
Wednesday, the 50-stock index settled at 24378.10, down 198.50 points or 0.8% and the BSE Sensex ended at 78516.49, down 756.84 points or 1.0%. Kumaar expects Nifty 50 to face immediate resistance around 24500-24650 points and find support around 24200-24100.
Premiums on 24400-25000 call strikes expiring Tuesday declined 41-57% and those on 24400-24350 put options rose around 30%. The maximum addition of open interest was at the 24400-point call as well as put contracts. The April futures contracts of the 50-stock index also mirrored this bearishness. The contract closed 0.8% lower at 24385 points and open interest rose 0.5% to 16.46 million.
--Nifty 50 April closed at 24385.00, down 199.50 points; 6.90-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 May closed at 24513.90, down 202.30 points; 135.80-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 June closed at 24660.40, down 179.70 points; 282.30-point premium to the spot index
HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, ABB India, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Havells India, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Vodafone Idea, Persistent Systems, Trent, Nestle India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki India, and Hindustan Unilever were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday. End
US$1 = INR 93.80
IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT
Edited by Saji George Titus
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