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Informist, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Large open interest at the 23000 strike price shows heavy selling at that level as traders hope the Nifty 50 will not breach its crucial support level. Selling accelerated, particularly in the afternoon, as put writers returned. Higher crude oil prices and surging bond yields globally, however, leave little room for optimism after the headline index ended at its lowest closing level in five months. Sentiment in the market continues to be negative, analysts said, adding that a decline below 23000 could result in a severe correction.

 

The put-call ratio for contracts expiring Tuesday is 0.7, primarily due to heavy call writing. This indicates that institutional traders do not expect the Nifty 50 to recover sharply any time soon. The September futures contract of the Nifty 50 hovered around 23100 points, which indicates that traders are not ruling out the possibility of a pullback. A pullback rally could push the 50-stock index to 23150–23250 points at the most, several analysts said.

 

India VIX jumped 22% to 12.63 points, making options prices very costly. Traders relentlessly purchased the 23000 put options, pushing premiums up by more than 500% in a single day to INR 87.25. Other out-of-the-money put options were also popular among traders, with premiums across the 22700-22900 strike prices rising 300-500%. Further out-of-the-money and low delta contracts also became more expensive as the Nifty 50 tumbled.

 

The put side of the options chain also showed significant long unwinding with open interest across key strike prices falling significantly. Open interest at in-the-money call options across 23250-23500 strike prices declined by up to 3.7 million contracts. The highest put base at the 23000 strike should provide immediate support for the Nifty 50. "If the Nifty 50 falls below 23000 points, we could see a correction to 22700 points in the near term," Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said. "As long as the market remains below 23500 points, sentiment will remain weak," De said.

 

Call options were sold across strike prices. Premiums even on near-the-money call options across 23100-23150 strike prices declined around 70%. Relatively cheaper out-of-the-money call contracts across 23200-23500 strike prices were also under selling pressure, with premiums on these contracts declining up to 80%. The highest call base was at 24000 strike price, which had an open interest of nearly 20 million contracts.

 

Thursday, the Nifty 50 ended 1.6% lower than Wednesday at 23063.10 points. This was the sharpest single-session decline since Jul. 8. Only three stocks in the index ended higher. Shares of financial services companies fell sharply after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India proposed commission limits and limiting management expenses in a consultation paper. A surge in crude oil prices and a record rise in US bond yields overnight rattled the equity market, triggering selling pressure across sectors.

 

"The correction reflects more than routine profit-booking--the rise in the US 10-year Treasury yield to around 5.11%, crude oil remaining above $100 a barrel and persistent geopolitical uncertainty are collectively raising concerns around inflation, borrowing costs, and the pace of global monetary easing," Vikram Kasat, chief business officer, advisory and dealing, at PL Capital, said. These challenges are prompting investors to reduce risk, particularly in rate-sensitive segments, he said.

 

The 10-year US bond yield reached 5.15%--the highest level since July 2007--and the 30-year yield touched a 22-year high. This percolated into the Indian bond market as well, with the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond rising to 7.1133%, hitting its highest level since May 22. A sharp jump in US yields is also strengthening the case for the Reserve Bank of India to hike lending rates at its policy meeting in October, analysts said.

 

At 1622 IST, the November futures contract of Brent Crude oil was up 1.4% at $104.52 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange. Prospects for a quick diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran faded and uncertainty over a possible US ban on diesel exports added to concern about global fuel supplies.

 

--Nifty 50 September closed at 23095.00, down 354.80 points; 31.90-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 October closed at 23169.50, down 379.10 points; 106.40-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 November closed at 23292.00, down 369.20 points; 228.90-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, PB Fintech, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea were the most actively traded underlying stocks Thursday.  End

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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