26,000PE fortress holds: Nifty OI signals steady support amid IV crush

The support level remained at 26,000PE for a second consecutive week, while the resistance level rose 500 points to 27,000CE. The highest Call OI is at 26,500CE followed by 26,300/ 26,400/ 27,000/ 26,200/26,700/ 26,600/ 26,350 / 26,250 strikes, while 26,400/ 26,300/ 26,500/ 26,250/ 26,600 strikes recorded reasonable addition of Call OI. Call ITM strikes from 26,100 inwards and select deep Call OTM strikes witnessed marginal fall in OI.

Coming to the Put side, 26,000PE has highest Put OI followed by 26,100/ 26,200/ 25,900/ 25,500/ 25,200/ 25,300/ 26,250/ 25,950/ 25,700 strikes. Further, 26,200/ 26,200/ 26,000/ 26,250/ 26,150 strikes hold marginal build-up of Put OI. Put ITM strikes from 24,700 onwards recorded moderate OI fall, while minute decline at Put OTM strikes in 25,450-25,700 range.

Dhirender Singh Bisht, Associate Vice-President (Technical Research – Equity), SMC Global Securities Ltd, said: “In the derivatives segment, the highest Call Open Interest for Nifty was observed at the 26,500 and 26,200 strike levels, whereas notable Put Open Interest was concentrated at the 26,000 and 26,100 strikes. For Bank Nifty, significant Call OI was seen at the 60,000 strike, with substantial Put OI at the 59,000 strike.”

A fall in the Call Implied Volatility (IV) from 14.10 to 8.08 and a decline in Put IV from 10.35 to 8.51 indicates that the market expects less future price volatility for the underlying asset. Lower implied volatility suggests reduced uncertainty or risk perception about the asset’s future price movements.

Call and put options are reflecting expectations of lower price swings ahead. Options premiums tend to decrease when IV falls because there’s less anticipated price fluctuation. This often means the market consensus is that prices will be more stable in the near term.

“Bank Nifty outperformed the broader markets, recording a weekly gain of 1.5 per cent, while the Nifty closed with a modest rise of 0.50 per cent, supported by expectations of improved earnings and a potential rate cut. Sector-wise, pharma, financial services, and media stocks ended the week in positive note whereas chemical, defence, and PSU sectors witnessed declines,” added Bisht.

Latest data is pointing to fresh OI build-up in Call OTM strikes, with the highest concentration at 26,500 Call strike. On the downside, a strong Put base at 26,000 level would act as key support for now. The India VIX declined further below 12 mark. Any move further towards 11.50 and below would strengthen the bullish bias in the equities. On the other hand, move above 12.50 could bring some weakness.

India VIX fell 1.42 per cent to 11.62 level. “Implied Volatility for Nifty’s Call options settled at 9.84 per cent, while Put options concluded at 10.79 per cent. The India VIX, a key indicator of market volatility, concluded the week at 11.78 per cent. The Put-Call Ratio of Open Interest stood at 1.22 for the week. Nifty began this expiry trading above its rollover range of 26,050-26,100, which remained unchanged from the previous series,” remarked Bisht.

For the week ended November 28, 2025, BSE Sensex closed at 85,706.67 points, higher by 474.75 points or 0.55 per cent, from the previous week’s (November 21) closing of 85,231.92 points. NSE Nifty too rose 134.80 points or 0.51 per cent to 26,202.95 points from 26,068.15points a week ago.

Bisht forecasts: “The outlook stays positive as Nifty futures continue to trade above these rollover levels. In the sessions ahead, the 26,000 mark is expected to act as a crucial support for the index, while resistance is likely to emerge near 26,500. Traders are advised to adopt a buy-on-dips approach as long as the market sustains above its support zone.”

Bank Nifty

Bank Nifty, NSE’s banking index, closed the week at 59,752.70 points, up by 885 points or 1.50 per cent from the previous week’s closing of 58,867.70 points.