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Informist, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026

 

By Eshitva Prakash

 

MUMBAI – Call option sellers covered their short positions ahead of the weekend, owing to a small decline in crude oil prices. A fall in India VIX--the market's fear gauge--shows option contract premiums declined amid lower demand, as concerns about tighter monetary policy and high crude oil prices deterred directional bets and reduced the need for protective bets. A sharp decline in open interest at several key strikes also shows traders exited positions and booked profits.

 

The highest call base at the 24000 strike price, followed by the 23500 strike price, indicates that even a bounce-back from current levels will not be very sharp. Open interest at the 24000 strike price declined by 3.6 million contracts. Meanwhile, significant selling at the 23500 strike price increased open positions by over 1 million contracts. Open interest in the November Nifty 50 futures contract fell 4.9% from Thursday to 13.33 million. India VIX declined over 4% to 12.16 points. A fall in the index shows that option premiums are relatively cheap and that demand has declined.   

 

Traders sold most out-of-the-money call contracts, with premiums across 23300-23700 strike prices declining up to 40%. Deep-out-of-the-money contracts also faced selling pressure, owing to accelerated theta decay. Sept. 29 marks the monthly and weekly expiry of these derivative contracts. Premiums across 23150–23250 strike prices rose 4–11%, while open interest at 23200 and 23250 strike prices declined up to 3.7 million contracts, indicating short covering by call writers. 

 

Put options were sold across strike prices after the Nifty 50 sustained above its crucial support at 23000 points. Premiums on out-of-the-money contracts across 22500-22900 strike prices declined up to 70%. Open interest at several deep-out-of-the-money puts declined, indicating a slight improvement in buying interest.    

 

Friday, the Nifty 50 ended at 23140.50 points, up 0.3% from Thursday. This week, the headline index declined almost 1%. Some consumer durable and cyclical stocks ended higher Friday, supporting the 50-stock index. Shares of financial services and select index heavyweight banks also rose, supported by short covering. "The ability of the benchmark index to sustain above the psychologically important 23000 level reflects domestic resilience and support from strong domestic liquidity," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Investments, said. Elevated oil prices and global bond yields may continue to temper risk appetite in the near term, but improving valuations and resilient domestic growth prospects are encouraging selective accumulation, Nair said in a note.

 

At 1611 IST, the November futures contract of Brent Crude oil traded 1% lower at $105.49 per barrel, after rising more than 7% in the two previous sessions. Oil prices fell on reports that the US and Iran were exploring a phased deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which tempered supply concerns. However, missile attacks by Houthi militants on Saudi Arabia raised concerns over the country's oil infrastructure and export routes. Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthis toward areas including Taif and the Yanbu region on the Red Sea. Only 17 commodity vessels crossed Hormuz over the recent weekend, compared with a pre-war average of about 125 vessels a day, data from market intelligence firm Kpler showed. 

 

--Nifty 50 September closed at 23190.00, up 81.40 points; 49.50-point premium to the spot index
--Nifty 50 October closed at 23261.00, up 74.90 points; 120.50-point premium to the spot index

--Nifty 50 November closed at 23381.00, up 78.20 points; 240.50-point premium to the spot index

 

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, PB Fintech, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and JSW Steel were the most actively traded underlying stocks Friday.  End

 

US$1 = INR 95.81

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

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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