Infosys shock spurs 9,400% gain in options

To get a sense of how surprised investors are by the departure of Infosys co-president B G Srinivas, take a look at the options market. Wednesday's most-widely held put options on Infosys, those that expire on Thursday and become profitable if shares fall below Rs 3,100, surged 17-fold as of 3:30 pm close in Mumbai. Bearish contracts with a strike of 3,000, which tumbled 88 per cent on Wednesday to only Rs 0.8, rallied 9,400 per cent. The stock sank 6.5 per cent to Rs 2,924.5. While swings in options prices often increase as they near expiry, the size of Thursday's moves suggests investors were surprised by the departure of Srinivas.