Informist, Monday, Jun 12, 2023

By Padmini Dhruvaraj

MUMBAI – Investors refrained from placing aggressive bets both in the spot and the derivatives markets ahead of key macroeconomic events such as domestic CPI data for May, India Industrial Production data for April, US Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and European Central Bank rate hike decision.

The Nifty 50 options chain indicated that traders were cautious ahead of the US Fed's policy meeting outcome due on Wednesday, said Ganesh Angaj, technical head at NVS Brokerage.

The 50-stock index traded in a thin range-bound session today to close 0.2% higher at 18601.50 points. "Technically, the Nifty 50 hovered between 18560 and 18630, and the narrow range activity clearly indicates indecisiveness between the bulls and bears," said Shrikant Chouhan, head of research at Kotak Securities.

As a result, the call options premium at levels of 18600 rose and fell throughout the day and eventually closed nearly 14% higher at 91.35 rupees, as the Nifty 50 closed above those levels in the spot market. The net open interest addition was also the highest at the 18600 strike price with 1.25 mln new positions being added. 

The range-bound session also led the investors to unwind their long positions at the 18700 strike price today, a technical analyst said. However, the total open interest was the highest at 18700 strike, indicating that the market is in a wait-and-watch mode, the analyst added.

Some aggressive call options selling was also seen in contracts above 18900 strike prices, which also reflects that investors do not anticipate much upside in the market this week.

On the put front, premiums at the 18600 strike price fell 42% to 49.75 rupees, while the change in open interest was the highest at the strike, with 4.54 mln new positions being added.

Meanwhile, premiums of strike prices of 18000-18550 fell 15%-55% today. 

Analysts said levels of 18550 would act as an immediate support level to the Nifty 50 in the spot market and above which the index could move up till 18650-18700. On the other hand, a fresh sell-off is possible if the index falls below 18550 points.

The June futures contract of the Nifty 50 closed at a premium of 88.90 points to the spot index today. Open interest in the contract fell 4.28% to 9.29 mln, as per provisional data.

--Nifty 50 Jun closed at 18690.40, up 58.85 points; 88.90-point premium to spot index

--Nifty 50 Jul closed at 18771.40, up 51.85 points; 169.90-point premium to spot index

--Nifty 50 Aug closed at 18867.05, up 51.10 points; 265.55-point premium to spot index

Infosys, Hindustan Aeronautics, Reliance Industries, Dixon Technologies, NTPC, Adani Enterprises, and Tata Consultancy Services were amongst the most actively traded underlying stocks. 

End

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

Edited by Maheswaran Parameswaran

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