FIIs up short bets in Nifty futures amid Tuesday's pullback, shows F&O data

FIIs have now net sold 83,828 contracts of Nifty futures in the last five trading sessions, the highest in back-to-back days in over 11 months.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) increased short positions in Nifty futures amid Tuesday's over 300-point intra-day recovery on the NSE benchmark, shows the NSE futures & options (F&O) data.  The Nifty on Tuesday slipped to an intra-day low of 23,229 - down 154 points from the previous close. However, a sharp intra-day recovery saw the index surge up to 328 points or 1.4 per cent from the day's low to a high of 23,557. At the end of the day, the Nifty settled with a gain of 101 points or 0.4 per cent at 23,484.  Meanwhile, the NSE F&O data shows that FIIs were net sellers of Nifty futures for the fifth straight trading day, with net sales of 7,619 contracts (Lots). With this, FIIs' total net sales in Nifty futures now stand at 83,828 Lots in five days. This is second to 86,541 Lots net sold in 17 consecutive trading sessions in the July 2025 series.  READ | FIIs build aggressive Nifty shorts; sell 76k Lots in 4 trading days  According to the NSE data FIIs' open interest (OI) in Nifty has increased by over 40 per cent or 60,046 Lots in the first four trading sessions of the June series. In comparison, FIIs OI in Bank Nifty futures and Nifty MidCap has declined by 16 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively, in the same period.  Data further shows that FIIs long-short ratio in overall index futures has now dipped to 0.10 as against 0.11 in the previous trading session. The long-short ratio is calculated by considering the number of open positions on the buy side as against the sell side trade. The current ratio implies that FIIs hold around 90 per cent of OI on the short side of the trade.  For other participants such as Domestic Institutional Investors, Proprietary Traders and Retail Investors the long-short ratio stands at 1.99, 1.31 and 3.25. Retail ratio is at its highest point since October 13, 2025, shows data.

Nifty Outlook Today

Dhupesh Dhameja, Derivatives Research Analyst at SAMCO Securities reckons that technically, the Nifty has managed to defend the crucial 23,300–23,250 support zone, which has repeatedly acted as a demand area over the past few weeks.  However, he believes that the Nifty is still in a cautious phase as the rebound failed to reclaim the 20-DEMA (Day Exponential Moving Average).  Dhameja sees immediate resistance for the Nifty placed around 23,740–23,860, coinciding with the 20-DEMA and previous breakdown area; above which he believes a short-covering rally can trigger a move toward the 24,000-mark.  On the downside, the analyst reiterates 23,300–23,250 as first line of defense, followed by 23,116, which marks an important swing support. He further highlights that options data suggests a likely range-bound trade in the near future.  "Nifty options structure remains range-bound with significant call writing is visible around 23,500 and 24,000 strikes, highlighting overhead resistance; while put writers continue to defend the 23,300 and 23,500 strikes," says Dhameja.  Disclaimer: The views expressed by the brokerage/ analyst in this article are their own and not those of the website or its management. Business Standard advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.