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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 16, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Traders added long positions on shares of Reliance Industries and trimmed their expectations of a rise in JSW Steel's stock ahead of these companies releasing their earnings on Friday. Derivative bets on the Nifty 50 index were largely similar as on Wednesday, with put and call contracts sold across the options chain of the index, indicating expectations of range-bound movement in the near term.

 

"Despite companies that constitute nearly one-third of Nifty 50's weightage releasing their results on Friday and Saturday, I don't expect a lot of movement in the index in the near term," Nandish Shah, senior derivative analyst at HDFC Securities, said. "The index may be volatile in case of an earnings surprise, but this volatility will likely be constrained into a range," he said. In the near term, the analyst expects the 50-stock index to consolidate in a range of 23800-24400. On Thursday, the Nifty 50 index ended almost flat at 24072.75 points.

 

Traders sold put and call options across the options chain of the Nifty 50 index, with 24200 strike price's maximum open interest rising by over 1 million to over 10 million and its premiums declining 14%. Traders sold other call contracts of strike prices up to 25000. They also unwound their long positions as several contracts at the 24000 strike price were closed. 

 

Traders sold maximum put contracts at the 23000 strike price, with open interest on the contract rising by over 2 million to more than 9 million. They relentlessly sold out-of-the-money put options across 23500-24000 strike prices. Open interest in the 24000 strike price rose to 6.5 million, which indicates among the highest call and put open interest build up near spot levels. 

 

Options data on Reliance Industries showed that traders covered their short positions on the stock's derivative and also added to their long positions. Premiums on strike prices above INR 1,320 rose, while put options below INR 1,280 were heavily sold. A rise to INR 1400, which is the strike price with the highest open interest on the call side, would imply an upside of almost 8% from the stock's current price. Brokerages expect the company to report an all-around performance for the June quarter. Its consolidated net profit for the June quarter is expected to rise nearly 3.5% on year to INR 187 billion. Its revenue for the quarter is expected to rise nearly 7% to INR 3.14 trillion for the June quarter.

 

Traders unwound long positions on JSW Steel's derivatives, options data showed. Premiums of call contracts with INR 1250-INR 1300 strike prices declined 10-16%. While investors also sold deep out-of-the-money put contracts, they also bought contracts near spot prices, indicating limited expectations of a fall. Premiums on put contracts of INR 1,200 strike price rose 4% and those on INR 1,220 rose 1.5%. The company is expected to report a 46% on-year rise in earnings for the June quarter on the back of higher steel prices, strong realisation, and other factors. However, sales volume expectations are bearish after the company's poor quarterly update. The company's consolidated net sales for the June quarter are expected to be INR 444.7 billion, up just over 3% on year.

 

Traders also expect the Nifty Bank index to be in range in the near term, with many buying in-the-money put options and selling call options across strike prices. Premiums across 58000–60500 strike prices fell 8-15%. Some traders also unwound long positions after Wednesday's options chain showed possibilities of a further rise. A large open interest build-up at 59000 call option and 57000 put option strike prices indicates where the index is likely to find support and resistance, respectively. The sectoral index ended at 57582.25 points Thursday, down just 0.3 points from Wednesday.

 

--Nifty 50 July closed at 24103.70, up 35.90 points; 30.95-point discount to the spot index

--Nifty 50 August closed at 24197.40, up 29.80points; 124.65-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 September closed at 24340.00, up 31.40 points; 267.25-point premium to the spot index

 

Bharat Heavy Electricals, ABB India, Dixon Technologies (India), Tata Consultancy Services, Torrent Pharmaceuticals, Polycab India, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Infosys were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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