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Informist, Friday, Mar. 27, 2026

By Simran Rede

MUMBAI – The equity market in India has been witnessing a roller-coaster ride in recent days as developments in the West Asia continue to impact the equity markets globally, crude oil prices and the Indian rupee. The bias for the equity market as well as the rupee remains weak unless crude oil prices show a meaningful correction, analysts said. After a sharp dip Friday, traders added short positions in the call options of Nifty 50 derivatives. However, they also wrote put options at some strikes indicating a limited fall of the index Monday. 

"The recent pullback in the Nifty (50) index failed to sustain, with fresh selling pressure and short build-up emerging across the broader market amid rising crude oil prices," said Vatsal Bhuva, a technical analyst at LKP Securities. "In Friday's session, significant call writing was observed with 4.28 crore (42.8 million) call additions, while 65.04 lakh (6.50 million) put positions were unwound, reflecting a cautious stance," he added.

The 23000-strike call saw the highest addition of open interest with its premium falling over 73%, showing no signs of the Nifty 50 rising above this level. On the put side, traders wrote the 21800 strike with its open interest rising by 2 million contracts but premiums falling over 48%. The put-call ratio was at 0.9, further highlighting a bearish undertone for the index in the coming sessions, Bhuva said.

Till Monday's session, traders were 86% short on the Nifty 50 index and rolled over 21% of their positions to the April futures, Bhuva of LKP Securities said. Friday, the April futures of the Nifty 50 index closed 2.3% lower at 22894.80 points, with its open interest rising 73.6% higher at 14.66 million.

The 50-stock index is likely to face selling pressure with any rebound towards 23200-23500 points, indicating immediate resistance. On the downside, a fall below 22800-22450 points may lead to further weakness, analysts said. Friday, the Nifty 50 settled 2.1% lower at 22819.60 points and the BSE Sensex ended 2.3% lower at 73583.22 points.

Investors booked profit Friday after the sharp rise in the market for previous two sessions. India VIX, the fear gauge of Dalal Street, surged almost 9% to 26.8025, indicating rising volatility after two sessions. A weakening rupee, rising crude oil prices, and persistent outflows of foreign investments have continued to favour the bears, said Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, in a note.

"The concern of higher crude for a prolonged period is weighing heavily on the currency and overall macro outlook," said Jateen Trivedi, vice president of research analyst - commodity and currency at LKP Securities, in a note. "Sustained dollar demand and energy-led inflation risks are keeping the rupee under stress," he added.

The rupee slumped past the psychologically crucial 94-per-dollar mark for the first time and ended at a record closing low of 94.8125 on Friday, 0.9% lower from its previous close. The Indian unit is likely to face resistance at 94 a dollar now, while the next crucial support is seen near 95 a dollar. At 1659 IST, the Brent Crude oil May futures contract traded on the Intercontinental Exchange was 2.7% higher at $110.91 per barrel.

--Nifty 50 March closed at 22801.70, down 498.30 points; 17.90-point discount to the spot index

--Nifty 50 April closed at 22894.80, down 532.40 points; 75.20-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 May closed at 23030.00, down 517.10 points; 210.40-point premium to the spot index

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, State Bank of India, Tata Consultancy Services, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, JSW Steel, Eternal, Vedanta, Shriram Finance, InterGlobe Aviation, and Tata Steel were the most actively traded underlying stocks Friday.  End

US$1 = INR 94.8125

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

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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