Square-Offs, Rollovers Spawn Volatility

Derivatives market succumbed to profit taking in the cash market after two straight days of gains.

Stock prices were under pressure with the August contract nearing expiry. Nifty August futures closed 12 points lower at 986.30 as against a fall of 11.15 points in S&P CNX Nifty at 987.70.

Volatility was high as investors either squared off or rolled over their positions to the September contract. Volumes in Nifty August and Septemeber futures were at 5841 and 3879 contracts respectively. While open interest fell in the August contract at 5680 it more than doubled in the September contract at 3941. The October contract also attracted good activity.

However, the absence of any premiums in the far-month contracts points to a lack of view from market players.

With the underlying stocks gaining ground, call options, at strikes 1000 and 990 were the top-traded scrips with 194 and 142 contracts, respectively.

The increased activity in the September 960 and 990 put options indicates that market players are bearish in the medium term.

The put-call ratio ticked up to 0.60 (previous 0.55) indicating there might be still some more downside after Tuesday's fall.

Technology stocks were in the limelight with pivotals Satyam and Infosys witnessing high volatility. Satyam futures clocked 10953 contracts. Infosys, Digital and Reliance were the other active contracts. In stock options, nine contracts made it to the top ten traded options with the sole exception being Larsen & Toubro call at 180.