More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Premiums on several put contracts in the options chain of the BSE Sensex surged in the final minutes of trading Thursday. The surge was again driven by sharp auction repricing during the weekly expiry of these contracts. Meanwhile, traders cut short positions on the Nifty 50 after a rally in banking stocks prevented a sharp decline in the index amid high global bond yields and oil prices. Short-covering and elevated put writing led to a substantial decline in premiums of Nifty 50 put contracts. However, the technical structure of the Nifty 50 suggests the index is headed for further declines, analysts said.

 

The BSE Sensex ended at 76152.86 points, down 417.49 points, or 0.6%, from Wednesday and down a whopping 400 points from its 1515 IST levels, when the continuous trading session ended. The index's indicative close showed an almost 2100-point fall, prompting a jump in deep-out-of-the-money put options. At 1515 IST, the 76500 put contract was valued at INR 62.30. By the time futures and options trading halted, the contract's value jumped over 450% to INR 346.50. Similarly, the premiums on put contracts across 76300, 76400, and 76600 strike prices rose 300-400%.

 

The Nifty 50 ended at 23873.45 points, down 0.2% from Wednesday after the index failed to stage a recovery. Banking stocks gained after the Reserve Bank of India reported better-than-expected foreign fund inflows through the special foreign exchange swap window and strong mobilisation of foreign currency non-resident (banks) deposits. A pause in the government bond sell-off also aided sentiment. Small-caps also attracted investor interest, which reflects confidence in domestic growth prospects, Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said. "Stubbornly high crude oil prices continue to act as key overhangs for the domestic market," he added.

 

Thursday's follow-through selling reinforces the near-term downtrend, with the Nifty 50 trading below all key moving averages, reflecting sustained selling pressure and weak sentiment, Nandish Shah, deputy vice president at HDFC Securities, said. The headline index is expected to face resistance at 24000–24200 levels. A decisive break below 23800 points could lead to a fall to 23600 points, while holding above this level may allow for short-term consolidation within the broader downtrend, Shah said.

 

Traders sold out-of-the-money Nifty 50 option contracts. Premium at the 23000 strike price, the biggest put base, declined nearly 44%. Out-of-the-money put contracts across 23500-23800 strike prices declined 30–40%. Further out-of-the-money contracts came under selling pressure amid high theta decay. Open interest at the 23800 strike price fell sharply to over seven million contracts, indicating short covering. A fall in open interest at various in-the-money put contracts also indicates short covering as writers squared off their positions.

 

On the other side of the options chain, premiums across 24000–24500 strike prices continued to decline as expectations of a Nifty 50 rebound waned. Additionally, call writers were active on contracts expiring after Tuesday, reinforcing negative sentiment through September.  

 

--Nifty 50 September closed at 23974.80, down 25.50 points; 101.35-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 October closed at 24079.60, down 23.60 points; 206.15-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 November closed at 24185.00, down 27.40 points; 311.55-point premium to the spot index

HDFC Bank, BSE, Solar Industries India, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, RBL Bank, Swiggy, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Axis Bank, and Dixon Technologies (India) were the most actively traded underlying stocks Wednesday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 94.49

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000 /+91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.