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Informist, Tuesday, May 19, 2026

 

By Gopika Balasubramanium

 

MUMBAI – The options contracts of the Nifty 50 expiring next week showed that the index is likely to move in a range in the upcoming sessions. The sentiment in the market is cautious as the rupee continues to hit fresh record lows against the dollar. Market participants are also concerned about crude oil prices remaining above $100 a barrel since the war in West Asia began.

 

Technical analysts expect the index to face selling pressure at higher levels in the near term. The Nifty 50 closed at 23618 points Tuesday, down 31.95 points or 0.1%. Trading was volatile during the session on expiry day. Technical analysts see the index facing strong resistance at 23800 points. Till the index crosses that level, the bias in the market will be bearish, they say. The headline index is seen finding support at 23200-23000 points.

 

A sustained move above 23900 points could push the Nifty 50 back towards the 24500-24600 range whereas a decisive break below 23300–23200 may drag the index towards 22700 points, Rajesh Bhosle, technical analyst at Angel One, said. Until the index breaches either threshold, traders are advised to continue with a buy-on-dips and book-profits-at-higher-levels approach, he added.

 

Traders added short bets at call contracts with strike prices 23700, 24000, and 25000 points Tuesday, extinguishing the possibility of a downside. Premiums on these strike prices fell by 30-50%. The highest addition of open interest was at 23700 call and the maximum concentration was at 24000 call.

 

Traders sold put contracts expiring next week at near out-of-the-money strike prices. They wrote put contracts at strike prices such as 22800 and 21000 with their premiums falling 45-52%. They also sold put options at strikes such as 23700 and 23800. The highest addition of open interest was at the 22800 put and the maximum concentration was at the 23000 put.

 

--Nifty 50 May closed at 23605.00, down 53.00 points; 13.00-point discount to the spot index

--Nifty 50 June closed at 23697.70, down 42.40 points; 79.70.00-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 July closed at 23792.00, down 53.20 points; 174.00-point premium to the spot index

 

Infosys, BSE, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Vodafone Idea, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, and Tata Consultancy Services were the most actively traded underlying stocks Tuesday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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