NIFTY Expiry Today: options OI indicate 24,300 as key support level

The NIFTY50 today opened with deep cuts before paring some gains in afternoon trade. At 12 pm, the NIFTY50 was trading 0.4% lower at 24,345 ahead of the weekly expiry of NIFTY50 derivatives contracts.

The NIFTY50 is expected to find support at 24,300 where there is highest open interest (2.34 crore) on the put side. On the call side, the highest OI (2.01 crore) is at 24,500 where the index may find resistance.

The max pain of the NIFTY50 stood at 24,350. The max pain theory shows the level at which option sellers are likely to have the least loss on expiry.

The index also reflected a put-call ratio (PCR) of 0.97, which indicates a neutral sentiment. PCR is the ratio of the number of puts to the number of calls of an asset. It is noteworthy that in extreme downward and upward market movements, the PCR may hit as low as 0.5 or as high as 1.8, respectively.

On the technical side, the NIFTY’s trend remained bullish as it traded above 50, 100 and 200 day moving averages. The index is also showing positive moving average crossovers on short, medium and long term basis.

However, on the 15-minute chart, the NIFTY50’s trend was negative based on the supertrend indicator even as it had just crossed it just crossed its 20-period moving average.

India VIX, an index that reflects the anticipated volatility in the market over the next 30 days, rose 10% on Thursday to 12.94.

Among index contributors, L&T and HDFC Bank were the biggest contributors on the positive side, adding 27 and 21 points to the NIFTY50 while Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were the biggest drags, subtracting 51 and 25 points, respectively.

In sectors, oil & gas and media & entertainment were the biggest gainers, rising 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. Metals and private banks were the biggest losers, with losses of 1.3% each.