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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 29, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI - The Nifty 50 is unlikely to see a sharp rise in the near term as traders added short positions in far out-of-the-money contracts. However, the outlook is still positive as traders added long positions at strike prices near the spot, alongside selling put contracts across the board. 

 

Wednesday's rise in the Nifty 50 was largely due to traders adding long positions in options chain, derivatives analysts said. Some analysts also attributed the rise in the index to strong March quarter results from a few companies, which prompted buying interest among traders for stocks that have corrected sharply since the US-Iran war began. The Nifty 50 rose by 181.95 points to settle at 24177.65 points.

 

That said, there are also expectations that the West Asia war would come to an end soon, some analyts said. In the latest update, US President Donald Trump has asked Iran to "act smart." Earlier, the White House said the US was examining Iran's latest proposal to unblock the Strait of Hormuz. Iran insisted that US was no longer in a position to "dictate" policy to others. 

 

There are concerns on higher crude oil prices having inflationary pressures on the economy, widening the country's current account deficit. Crude oil prices have been above $100 a barrel for several days now, putting refiners in a difficult position as the spot prices are much higher than the futures contracts. There are also expectations of a hike in diesel and petrol prices as the state assembly elections have come to an end, analysts said. Any hike in prices by the government could severely hit demand, analysts said.  

 

Traders bought immediate out-of-the-money call options expiring next week, indicating there could be a slight upside in the index in the near term. However, they sold extreme out-of-the-money contracts, which gives an outlook that the 50-stock index is unlikely to see a spike in the coming sessions. Meanwhile, on the put side, traders sold contracts across the board, expectating a rise in the market. They sold extreme out-of-the-money put contracts which indicates limited downside in the 50-stock index.

 

Premiums on far out-of-the-money call options expiring next week fell 22-30%, while those on the immediate out-of-the-money strikes rose 26-33%. On the put side, traders sold contracts at in-the-money strikes such as 24200-24300, with premiums falling 33-37%. The highest concentration of call contracts expiring next week was at 24500, followed by 25000. On the put side, the concentration was at 24000 strike. The maximum addition in open interest was 24300-call and 24200-put contracts.

 

--Nifty 50 May closed at 24232.00, up 163.00 points; 54.35-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 June closed at 24359.50, up 158.00 points; 181.85-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 July closed at 24515.00, up 169.80 points; 337.35-point premium to the spot index

 

Reliance Industries, Eternal, Bandhan Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, MarutI Suzuki, HDFC Bank, ITC, RBL Bank, Vedanta, Adani Enterprises, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Indian Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, and Axis Bank were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.84

 

Edited by Vandana Hingorani

 

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