Nifty ended the session with a marginal decline despite witnessing buying interest during the second half of trading. While the index remained largely range-bound through most of the day, late-session profit booking prevented a stronger close. Options data, institutional activity, and open interest positioning indicate that traders continue to maintain a cautiously optimistic outlook, although important resistance zones remain intact.

After opening in negative territory, Nifty traded in a narrow range between 24,300 and 24,360 for most of the trading session. Buyers returned during the second half and pushed the index towards the 24,400 zone. However, profit booking emerged near higher levels, resulting in a marginal loss of 0.12%.

Broader market sentiment remained slightly weaker as the Nifty Midcap 100 Index underperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 and closed lower by 0.53%.

Sectoral performance remained mixed during the session.

• Top Performing Sectors: Consumer Durables and Media
• Underperforming Sectors: Metal and Pharma

The divergence across sectors indicates selective buying rather than broad-based market participation.

Institutional investors continued to provide support to the market.

• Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs): Net Buyers of ₹508.12 crore
• Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs): Net Buyers of ₹356.40 crore

The combined buying from FIIs and DIIs helped absorb selling pressure and contributed to market stability despite the weak closing.

While cash market activity remained positive, futures positioning showed a more cautious stance from foreign investors.

• Nifty Futures: -4,762 Contracts
• Bank Nifty Futures: -3,240 Contracts
• Fin Nifty Futures: -1 Contract
• Midcap Nifty Futures: +6 Contracts
• Nifty Next 50 Futures: +1 Contract

The reduction in Nifty and Bank Nifty futures exposure suggests traders remain cautious near resistance zones despite institutional buying in the cash market.

The options market continues to indicate a mildly bullish undertone.

• Major Call Open Interest: 24,500 Strike
• Major Put Open Interest: 24,000 Strike
• Put-Call Ratio (PCR): 0.88
• Max Pain: 24,400
• VWAP Trading Range: 24,305 – 24,485

Higher Put writing compared to Call writing suggests that market participants are relatively more comfortable building bullish positions at lower levels. However, the PCR of 0.88 indicates optimism remains moderate rather than aggressive.

The concentration of Call open interest at 24,500 continues to act as a major resistance zone, while strong Put positioning near 24,000 provides an important support base.

• Immediate Support: 24,305
• Major Support: 24,000
• Immediate Resistance: 24,485
• Major Resistance: 24,500
• Max Pain Zone: 24,400

A sustained move above the upper VWAP range could encourage fresh bullish momentum. Conversely, a break below the lower end of the projected range may trigger short-term weakness.

Nifty continues to trade within a well-defined range with support from institutional buying and stronger Put writing. The options structure reflects a mildly bullish bias, but resistance near 24,500 remains significant. Traders may closely monitor the 24,305–24,485 VWAP range for directional clues in the next trading session.

tags: Nifty Option Chain, Nifty Analysis, FII Data, DII Data, Market Outlook, Nifty PCR, Max Pain, Stock Market News, Nifty, BankNifty