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Nifty ends marginally lower on Monday
Aug-24-2026

Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended marginally lower on Monday amid escalation in geopolitical tensions in west region. Index made a positive start amid falling crude oil prices. Besides, the prospect of an imminent India-US trade deal supported sentiment after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor said the deal is ‘almost’ finalised in principle, with only legal and technical details left to be resolved. However, in late morning session, the market pared all its gains and slipped into negative territory as traders avoided risky bets ahead of ‌an expected announcement from Washington about imposing more sanctions on Iran that may further disrupt supplies from the Middle East. In second half of the session, Nifty continued its sluggish trade till the end of the session.

Traders were seen piling up positions in Metal, Realty and Reits & Realty stocks, while selling was witnessed in PSU Bank, Cement and Media. The top gainers from the F&O segment were Vishal Mega Mart, Muthoot Finance and Siemens. On the other hand, the top losers were Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, Bank of Baroda and Premier Energies. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 24400 - 24600 calls and 23900 - 24100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility increased by 4.51% and reached 11.70. The 50 share Nifty down by 32.95 point or 0.14% to settle at 24,219.05.

Nifty August 2026 futures closed at 24188.10 (LTP) on Monday, at a discount of 30.95 points over spot closing of 24219.05, while Nifty September 2026 futures ended at 24319.10 (LTP), at a premium of 100.05 points over spot closing. Nifty August futures saw a contraction of 6,094 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,36,330 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on August 25, 2026. (Provisional)

From the most active contracts, HDFC Bank August 2026 futures traded at a discount of 1.50 points at 727.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 729.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 1,06,828. (Provisional)

Infosys August 2026 futures traded at a premium of 7.30 points at 1137.30 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1130.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 73,914. (Provisional)

Reliance Industries August 2026 futures traded at a discount of 6.00 points at 1303.80 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1309.80. The numbers of contracts traded were 56,157. (Provisional) 

ICICI Bank August 2026 futures traded at a premium of 2.00 points at 1417.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1415.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 34,203. (Provisional) 

Axis Bank August 2026 futures traded at a premium of 0.50 points at 1236.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1236.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 32,907. (Provisional)

Among, Nifty calls, 24300 SP from the August month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 1,45,729 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 24200 SP from the August month expiry was the most active put with a contraction of 39,309 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 24500 SP (2,59,032 units) and that for Puts was at 24000 SP (2,57,764 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 24306.60 -- Pivot Point 24225.45 -- Support 24137.90.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.70) for August month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Petronet LNG (1.30), Samvardhana Motherson International (1.23), Fortis Healthcare (1.15), Multi Commodity Exchange of India (1.12), and Divi's Laboratories (1.04).

Among most active underlying HDFC Bank witnessed an addition of 6,953 units of Open Interest in the August month future, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 10,609 units of Open Interest in the August month future, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 11,404 units of Open Interest in the August month future, Infosys witnessed a contraction of 40,148 units of Open Interest in the August month futures and Vodafone Idea witnessed an addition of 1,943 units of Open Interest in the August month futures. (Provisional)

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