Caution In The Short Term

Nifty August futures ended at a marginal discount to the spot market at 988.50, up 7.70 points on Tuesday. The NSE S&P CNX Nifty ended at 988.55, up 8.70.

The other two contracts finished at a premium, once again indicating that players are still cautious in the short-term, but are optimistic of a recovery in the coming months.

Volumes picked up in the August contract as the segment witnessed a flurry of activity in the last session on Tuesday.

Open interest, however, fell with the expiry nearing. In Nifty options, the put-call ratio fell to 0.48 (previous 0.81) on the improved market sentiment.

Technology stocks dominated the top traded scrips. Satyam Computer, Infosys Technologies and Digital Equipment were the most active contracts.

However, Infosys finished at a big discount to the underlying giving an arbitrage opportunity. Tata Engineering and BPCL were the other top traded scrips.

In stock options, Satyam Computer call at Rs 220 and Rs 210 were the top traded scrips, which attracted Rs 906 and Rs 788 contracts, respectively.

The most active put series in Satyam were at strikes Rs 210 and Rs 200. Reliance and Infosys Technologies were the other scrips that made it to the top ten traded options.