Index futures volume up

DERIVATIVES REPORT

Volumes in the derivatives segment on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) increased to Rs 9,601 crore on Friday with 3.4 lakh contracts being traded. Volumes in individual stock futures went down to Rs 3,781 crore, while in index futures it was at Rs 4,909.50 crore.

With the May series set to expire next week on Thursday, roll-over of positions was already taking place. According to dealers, in the segment around 25-30 per cent of the positions were already rolled over.

The activity in the segment during the day pointed to market participants managing the index, dealers said. There were more volumes in index futures compared with volumes in stock futures.

The position in the futures and options segment indicated towards nervousness in the market, dealers said, pointing out that the index was set to go lower.

This indication can be had from the high implied volatility in case of the Nifty options which were at more than 50 per cent. The high implied volatility coupled with the negative basis in most of the stock futures pointed to selling pressure, market sources said.

Nifty futures saw open interest positions going down by 1.74 per cent, while Tata Steel's open interest went down by more than 20 per cent, that of State Bank of India by more than 10 per cent and that of Wipro by nearly eight per cent.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro saw its open interest gaining by 241 per cent, while the open interest in Maruti went up by 12.42 per cent and that in Reliance Energy by more than four per cent.

Turnover in Tata Steel futures was at around Rs 600 crore and in Reliance over Rs 350 crore.