Delivery-based trades cool off in April

From an eight-year high of 48.4 per cent in March, investors on the NSE as well as BSE placed fewer such bets

- SUNDAR SETHURAMAN

Delivery-based trades dipped in April after a sharp 12 per cent rebound in the benchmark Nifty 50 index, which hit an intraday low of 21,744 at the start of the month. As much as 43.53 per cent of the shares traded on the NSE and the BSE in the month were marked for delivery, down from 48.4 per cent in March, which was the highest level since March 2017, when delivery-based trades accounted for 52.6 per cent of the trade.

In FY25, delivery-based trades stood at 44.1 per cent of total trade volumes, with the rest being squared off on intraday.

Typically, a higher percentage of delivery-based trades indicates that traders are positive about the long-term prospects of the market. Intraday trades tend to be high when market conditions are volatile and traders are unsure of the direction that stocks could take. The percentage of delivery-based trades is also accentuated as intraday trades are not permitted in several counters, typically shares of smaller companies.