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Informist, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Call writers continued to be active across strike prices of the Nifty 50 options chain Wednesday, resulting in a sharp fall in premiums of such contracts. While traders had also purchased deep-out-of-money put contracts, signalling expectations of a steep fall, many closed these short positions after the headline index pared most of its losses in the final hour of trading. Some near-the-money put contracts, however, remained in steady demand, setting up a mildly negative view for the 50-stock index. 

 

Wednesday, the Nifty 50 ended at 24435.95 points, down just 0.2% from its closing level Tuesday. A fall in shares of Tata Group companies and elevated crude oil prices exerted large selling pressure on the 50-stock index, but as investors decided to purchase stocks at a better value, the Nifty 50 bounced back sharply from an intraday dip, finding support near its 20-day simple moving average of 24300 points. Information technology stocks were also among the top losers of the session. Despite accelerated put writing during the last hour of trading, several near-the-money put options ended up more valuable than Tuesday.

 

Call writing was seen at multiple strikes, along with some put addition at out-of-the-money strikes. The put-call ratio for the current week's expiry is at 0.75, which indicates negative sentiment among options traders, Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of research at Globe Capital Market, said. Going forward, holding below 24400 spot levels could drag the Nifty 50 towards 24130–24050 in the near term. Conversely, if the headline index maintains its level above 24500 points, it will strengthen the chances of further consolidation in the near term, analysts said.

 

Premiums of put contracts at 24300 strike price ended nearly 3% higher. Premiums across 24400-24200 strike prices also ended higher. These expensive put contracts, however, ended nowhere near their intraday peaks. Some further out-of-the-money put contracts were also purchased for a later expiration date as traders attempted to benefit from a low theta decay at these levels. However, even for contracts marked for later expiry, deep-out-of-the-money contracts, particularly those with a high open interest such as the 24000 strike, were sold as the Nifty 50 recouped most intraday losses. This strengthens the case for a continued consolidation of the Nifty 50 throughout August. 

 

Traders sold call contracts across strike prices of the Nifty 50 derivatives. Premiums across 24500–25000 strike prices declined sharply as the negative sentiment around domestic markets continued. While analysts did not rule out possibilities of some value buying at Nifty 50's beaten-down levels, it is highly improbable that an upward movement can sustain, considering the nearly 4 million open interest at 24500 level, which is within spitting distance of the headline stock's closing level Wednesday.         

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles will report its June quarter earnings Thursday. Traders unwound their long positions and sold call contracts after shares of Tata Group companies fell sharply on media reports that Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has not sought reappointment after his term ends in February. The company's consolidated top line is expected to improve moderately for the June quarter as operations of its wholly-owned luxury car arm Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc continue a gradual recovery. Its bottom line, however, is expected to fall sharply on year, given the potentially modest growth in revenues and higher costs. The Nexon maker is projected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 12.54 billion for the June quarter, down over 51% on year. Tata Motors PV's revenue for the June quarter is expected to be INR 925.70 billion, up 6% on year.

Max Healthcare Institute will close the June quarter earnings reports of Nifty 50 companies. Options chain of the stock shows traders expect a limited decline. Premiums on near-the-money put contracts for strike prices as low at INR 970 rose, while out-of-the-money call premiums fell. This near-term bearishness has more to do with the health and family welfare committee recommending a cap on hospital room rents rather than the company's earnings. Max Healthcare is expected to report strong growth in consolidated net profit and revenues for the June quarter, supported by higher bed occupancy, contribution from newly added beds, recovery in cashless volumes, and a ramp-up of brownfield projects. The company is expected to report a consolidated net profit of INR 3.95 billion, up over 28% on year. Its revenue is seen up 34% on year at INR 27.2 billion.  

 

--Nifty 50 August closed at 24480.90, down 59.60 points; 44.95-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 September closed at 24618.60, down 55.50 points; 182.65-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 October closed at 24740.00, down 69.10 points; 304.05-point premium to the spot index

Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Grasim Industries, Vodafone Idea, State Bank of India, Godrej Consumer Products, and National Aluminium Co were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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