FIIs net sell over 49K Nifty futures in 3 days, OI jumps by 36%: F&O data

According to data, FIIs net sold shares worth ₹19,584.70 crore in the cash market, and index futures worth ₹10,100.74 crore in the F&O segment in the last three trading sessions.

The NSE Nifty 50 index shed over 1,000 points or 4 per cent to 24,480 levels in the last three trading sessions amid rising concern over the impact of high crude oil prices amid the US-Israel-Iran war.  This is fastest 1,000-point fall in a 3-day period on the Nifty since April 4, 2025 - when the NSE benchmark had plunged over 1,000 points in intra-day trade in a single trading session.  Amid the sharp fall, the Nifty has dropped below the key moving averages, including the all-important long-term 200-day moving average (200-DMA) on the daily chart. The 200-DMA stands at 25,345, while the short-term 20-DMA is at 25,552.  On the technical front, Hitesh Tailor sees support for the Nifty around the 24,300–24,350 range.  "On the upside, immediate resistance is placed between 24,600 and 24,650. The Relative Strength Index (RSI), at 30.37 and below the 50 mark, reflects continued weakness in momentum, says Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking.  According to the cash market data, FIIs have net sold shares worth ₹19,584.70 crore in the last three trading sessions. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought stocks to the tune of ₹32.954.90 crore in the same period.  READ | Nifty crashes 1,000 points below its 200-DMA; analysts see more downside 

Meanwhile, here's what futures & options (F&O) data shows:

  According to the NSE F&O data, Nifty March futures declined by 4.1 per cent in the last three trading sessions, while the overall open interest (OI) increased by nearly 20 per cent.  Data reveals, that FIIs net sold 60,733 contracts of index futures (including Nifty, Bank Nifty and MidCap) to the tune of ₹10,100.74 crore in the last three days.  Amid this, FIIs were aggressive net sellers in Nifty futures - net sold 49,191 contracts, and their OI in Nifty futures rose by 35.9 per cent in this period.  As of date, FIIs long-short ratio in index futures stands at 0.16 - implying that over 86 per cent of present OI is on the short-side of trade. The long-short ratio is at the lowest point since February 3, 2026.  READ | BSE gets Sebi nod to launch derivatives for Sensex Next 30 index  In comparison, DIIs long-short ratio stands at 2.32 - with nearly 70 per cent OI on the long-side of trade. Retail investors and proprietary traders long-short ratio in index futures stand at 2.01 and 1.22, respectively.  Among individual stocks - Federal Bank, 360 ONE and OFSS have seen over 20 per cent increase in OI. Whereas the former two stocks declined by 4 per cent and 5.6 per cent, while the latter (OFSS) was up 3 per cent in the last three days, shows F&O data.  Given on-going global uncertainties and heightened volatility, Tailor cautions that fresh long positions should preferably be initiated only after a clear and sustained breakout above the 25,000 level on the Nifty, which would indicate strengthening sentiment and confirm the formation of a more robust bullish structure.  Disclaimer: View and outlook shared on the stock belong to the respective brokerages and are not endorsed by Business Standard. Readers discretion is advised.