Low turnover ahead of expiry

F&O OUTLOOK

The torrential rains in Mumbai kept traders away from action. The derivatives turnover on the NSE was unusually low at Rs 45,000 crore ahead of the July futures contracts expiry which is a mere three days away.

The Sensex ended the day at 14,349 (up 74 points) and the Nifty ended at 4,332 (up 20 points). Energy, consumer goods and realty stocks moved up, while software, power and metal shares saw a decline.

The Nifty July futures ended at a premium of five points after trading 10 points higher for a major part of the session. The August futures witnessed rollovers of 13.98 million shares, which is 35 per cent of the total open interest in Nifty futures. The rollovers in August futures are in line with earlier trend and it is too early to reach any conclusion.

The Nifty has been trading around the 40-DMA (daily moving average) of 4312, which has acted as a good support. According to a technical analyst at Ambit Capital, the Nifty should continue its consolidation in the 4200-4400 range before making any big move on either side of this range.

There was major call writing in July Nifty options at the 4300, 4400 and 4500 strike prices. The 4300 July call options added OI of 174,050 shares at an average premium of Rs 35 a share.

Call sellers expect the Nifty July futures to settle around 4300 in July. Likewise, the 4200 July calls shed OI of 113,750 shares at an average premium of Rs 154 a share, indicating that Nifty July futures could expire above the 4200 levels.