Nifty futures moved in line with the underlying spot market on Wednesday. However, Nifty March futures ended at a discount despite the market rally. April and May futures closed marginally higher.
Total volume in the derivatives segment was Rs 2,371.44 crore (against Rs 2,351.03 crore on Monday) with 91,124 contracts traded. Meanwhile, open interest positions continued to increase on several counters.
Interestingly, in the last few trading sessions a large number of open interest positions have shifted from the futures to the options segment, indicating hedging of positions in the market.
More From This Section
While March futures ended up 8.35 points at 1,002.40 while the NSE S&P CNX Nifty finished at 1002.40. April futures edged up 8.60 points at 1006.50 and May futures vaulted 7.60 points at 1008.00. In Nifty options, the put-call ratio improved to 0.65 against 0.84 on Monday.
The highest volume with 490 contracts traded was in the Nifty March call at 1000. Other calls among the top traded were at strikes of 1010 and 1020.
Among puts the highest volume was in the Nifty March put at 1000 and 990 and 980. Investors are advised to buy put options as the upside is capped.
In stock futures, Satyam Computer, Infosys Technologies and Reliance Industries were the top traded. Infosys closed at a discount to the underlying with an arbitrage of Rs 30. Open interest climbed marginally. Open interest in Reliance Industries fell by six per cent.
The open interest was up by 10 lakh shares in Satyam futures. Most positions were added at Rs 198-200. It appears that investors have gone short at Rs 198-200 levels. In stock options, Satyam Computer OTM calls continued to be active.