Derivatives cues signal cautious optimism amid narrow trading band

Options data show resistance rising to 26,000CE and support slipping to 24,000PE; India VIX edges off record lows, hinting at a mild rise in volatility

Resistance level rose 1,000 points to 26,000CE, while the support level fell 600 points to 24,000PE as per the latest options data on NSE. The 26,000CE has highest Call OI followed by 25,000 / 25,500/ 24,900/ 25,200/ 24,800/ 25,700/ 25,400/ 24,800 strikes, while 25,500/ 24,900/ 25,100/ 26,000 strikes recorded heavy build-up of Call OI. From 24,700 Call ITM strikes witnessed marginal OI fall. Maximum Put OI is seen at 24,000PE followed by 24,800 / 24,600/ 24,900/ 24,800/ 24,750 strikes. Further, 24,900/ 24,000/ 24,750/ 24,850/ 24,750 strikes recorded reasonable to hefty addition of Put OI. ITM Put strikes in 25,200-26,000 range hold modest Put OI decline.

Dhirender Singh Bisht, associate vice-president (technical research-equity) at SMC Global Securities Ltd, said: “In the derivatives market, prominent Call Open Interest for Nifty seen at the 25,000 and 25,500 strike, while the notable Put Open Interest was at the 24,800 and 24,700 strike. For Bank Nifty, the prominent Call Open Interest was seen at the 57,000 strike, whereas marginal put open interest at the 55,000 strike.”

“In the week gone by, the central bank relaxed regulations on corporate lending, enhanced IPO financing, and expanded the scope of capital market lending by banks boosted investor sentiment, helping the Nifty close with a gain of around one per cent. These banking reforms also supported Bank Nifty, which ended the week up nearly 2.2 per cent. Overall, all indices finished the week in positive territory, with PSU banks, metals, and public sector enterprises leading the sectoral gains,” added Bisht.

For the truncated week (market closed on Oct 2 for Dussehra) ended October 3, 2025, BSE Sensex closed at 81,207.17points, a net fall of 780.71 points or 0.97 per cent, from the previous week’s (September 26) closing of 80,426.46 points. NSE Nifty too declined by 239.55 points or 0.97 per cent to 24,894.25points from 24,654.70 points a week ago.

Bisht forecasts: “Nifty and Bank Nifty have rebounded and are now trading above their 100-day Exponential Moving Average-EMA, signaling short-term support. The long-term bullish trend remains intact. In the coming sessions, Nifty is likely to test resistance at 25,000–25,200, while support is expected around the 24,400–24,500 zone.”

Continued Call writing at OTM strikes will limit the upside momentum. Continuous net short by FIIs amid significant cash-based selling pressure may keep the upside limited towards these levels. India VIX fell 2.21 per cent to 10.06 level.The volatility gauge India VIX finally moved marginally higher from life low levels and hovering over 10 level. Any further uptick may take the volatility index towards 13 level.

“Implied Volatility for Nifty’s Call options settled at 9.50 per cent, while Put options concluded at 10.27 per cent. The India VIX, a key indicator of market volatility, concluded the week at 10.29 per cent. The Put-Call Ratio of Open Interest stood at 1.05 for the week,” remarked Bisht.

Bank Nifty

Bank Nifty NSE’s banking index closed the week at 55,589.25points, a 1,199.99 or 2.20 per cent lower from the previous week’s closing of 54,389.35 points.