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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI – The options chain shows the benchmark Nifty 50 index is likely to go up in the coming sessions but the rise will be capped. Derivative analysts said the put-call ratio has improved significantly, indicating that the bearish sentiment in the market has been doused a little. The January futures contract of the Nifty 50 expiring Tuesday ended higher for the first time in four sessions, suggesting the return of some optimism.

 

The analysts, however, expect the volatility in equities to continue in the near term amid geopolitical uncertainties. Investors are also expected to keep a close eye on the Indian currency, which slid to a record low just a day earlier. The rupee moved in a thin range Thursday, closing at 91.6300 to a dollar.

 

Thursday, the Nifty 50 closed at 25289.90 points, up 132.40 points or 0.5%, after rising 300 points to 25435.75 intraday. The index had risen sharply during the early part of the session. It came off the high later but still ended up. The domestic market's fear gauge, India VIX, fell in early trade but rose later in the day to close 3.12% lower at 13.3500.

 

Put writing was seen at various strike prices along with call additions at out-of-the-money strikes. The put-call ratio has improved, Vipin Kumaar, assistant vice-president, technical and derivatives, Globe Capital Market, said. The Nifty 50 is expected to stabilise around its current support level of 25200-25000 points. The resistance is seen at 25500 points, he said.

 

In the options chain, there is a clear indication that sentiment in the market has improved. For the first time in the week, traders went for call options at strikes higher than the spot, implying that the headline index is expected to rise. While they bought call options between 25350 and 25750 strikes, it was the 25400 call option that they added the most. The highest concentration of open interest was at the 26000 call, followed by the 25500 call.

 

On the put side, traders sold contracts across the board, which again indicates an upside in the market. However, analysts did not rule out the possibility of a slight fall in the headline index, because traders also added long positions at puts between 25200 and 25400 strikes, indicating that a rise in the index would be accompanied by an increase in selling pressure. However, the maximum concentration of put contracts was at the 25000 strike price, indicating that the headline index would not fall beyond that level.

 

--Nifty 50 January closed at 25375.00, up 196.80 points; 85.10-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 February closed at 25496.00, up 186.80 points; 206.10-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 March closed at 25697.60, up 197.90 points; 407.70-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, Eternal, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Multi Commodity Exchange of India, Steel Authority of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Consultancy Services, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, and Shriram Finance were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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