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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Heavy open interest build-up around closing levels of the Nifty 50 index indicates call sellers have created a tight range for the headline index to move in. High premiums across near out-of-the-money contracts across short and long positions show traders expect the 50-stock index to consolidate. However, the relentless selling of call contracts despite the Nifty 50 closing its third consecutive session in the red indicates that the market sentiment is somewhat negative. 

 

Thursday, the Nifty 50 ended 0.2% lower at 24395.85 points. Metal, banking, and financial services stocks were among the worst hit constituents of the Nifty 50 index. Most Tata group stocks, which were hit hard Wednesday, ended the session higher. At 1550 IST, the October futures contract of Brent Crude oil traded 1.4% lower at $87.79 per barrel. The contract fell after rising for six consecutive sessions after both Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency cut oil demand forecasts for 2026. However, oil prices continued to be higher as the ongoing stalemate in the US-Iran talks pose a persistent risk to shipping in West Asia.

 

Open interest in call options with 24500 strike price rose 1.5 million to over 10 million. On the other end, open interest in put options with 24300 strike price rose more than 2 million to almost 7 million contracts. Taken together, a heavy open interest build-up around spot levels reflects large positioning by institutional option writers, which will keep the underlying asset pinned around closing levels. 

 

Premiums of near out-of-the-money contracts, particularly call options, continued to be high despite large selling as traders hoped some value buying would push the Nifty 50 slightly higher. Premiums across 24400-242500 strike prices declined 20–30%. Further out-of-the-money contracts were sold heavily, with premiums across 24600-24800 strike prices declining sharply 40–50%. A net fall in open interest across some out-of-the-money strikes showed some traders unwound their long positions as weekly expiry day draws near.

 

Traders also sold put contracts across strike prices, with premiums across 24000–24300 strike prices declining 30–50%. Contracts down to 23800 strike prices continued to be sold by traders. Open interest on some in-the-money put contracts were sold, indicating limited short covering.

 

"The PCR (put-call ratio) for the current week expiry is at 0.77, (which) indicates slightly negative sentiments," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president of research at Globe Capital Markets said. Maximum positions at the call option of 25000 strike price, followed by 24500 call options indicate immediate resistance around 24850–24600 spot levels. The put option at 24000 strike price was also in heavy demand, followed by 24300 strike, implying immediate support around the 24230-24000 spot zone, the analyst said. 

The Nifty Bank index continues to consolidate within a range of 57200–58000 levels, with the index finding support near 57200 points and facing resistance around 58000 points, Vatsal Bhuva, technical analyst at LKP Securities said. Traders mostly sold contracts on the index, but some limited buying of near-the-money put contracts was also seen. The premium of put contracts at 57500 and 57600 strike prices rose 4–5%. A relatively flat relative strength index indicates little directional momentum for the sectoral index. "A sustained move beyond either (support and resistance level could provide further directional cues," Bhuva said, advising traders to take a level based approach to intraday trading.

 

--Nifty 50 August closed at 24467.30, down 3.20 points; 71.45-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 September closed at 24601.10, down 1.80 points; 205.25-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 October closed at 24730.00, down 11.20 points; 334.15-point premium to the spot index

Solar Industries India, Jio Financial Services, Bharti Airtel, Page Industries, Jubilant Foodworks, Astral, Reliance Industries, Vodafone Idea, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.44

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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