“NIFTY expiry day trading opened under pressure after weak Asian markets and rising crude oil prices triggered cautious sentiment.”
Indian markets were staring at a weak open this Tuesday morning with traders bracing for a volatile weekly expiry session after crude oil prices jumped and Asian equities turned sharply lower overnight.
GIFT NIFTY futures were down 176 points, or 0.75%, at 8 a.m., pointing to a gap-down start for the NIFTY50 index. The weakness followed renewed tensions in the Middle East after reports suggested talks between the US and Iran had stalled again. “Indian benchmark indices are expected to open in the red”, the Upstox market note said early this Tuesday morning.
What’s happening around the world: Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro May Get Biggest Camera Overhaul in Years, Supply-Chain Reports Suggest
Heavy Resistance Builds Near 23,500
Options positioning showed traders were aggressively defending higher levels. Open interest concentration on the call side remained elevated between 23,500 and 23,900, according to the report, suggesting the market may struggle to sustain any rebound during expiry trading.
Spot NIFTY was positioned around 23,378.70. “The open interest concentration on the call side remains high from 23,500 to 23,900 levels”, analyst Rohan Takalkar wrote. Put writers, meanwhile, appeared concentrated near 23,300 and 23,400. Those levels are now being watched closely as immediate support. A break below them could expose the index to further downside toward 23,100 and potentially the psychological 23,000 mark.
On the technical side, analysts noted NIFTY had slipped back into the 23,350–23,400 zone, which coincides with the 50% Fibonacci retracement level.
Oil, Asia Selloff Add Pressure
Brent crude futures rose more than 3% on Monday evening after fresh uncertainty around US-Iran negotiations. President Donald Trump later said discussions were still continuing and a deal could emerge within a week, though markets remained cautious. Asian equities reacted sharply. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.8% while South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.2% during early trade.
US markets closed mixed overnight. The Dow Jones ended nearly flat with a 0.09% gain, while the S&P 500 rose 0.26% and the NASDAQ advanced 0.42%. Technology stocks led gains, with Micron up 6.6%, NVIDIA rising 6.3%, Oracle climbing 9.9%, and IBM gaining 7.6%.
Tuesday’s session also marks a weekly NIFTY expiry day, a setup traders typically associate with sudden volatility spikes and rapid option premium erosion.
For more updates follow: First Report News
