Market geared for fresh surge after RBI surprise

Traders sniff coming upmove, sell Nifty put options aggressively to make gains

- Ram Sahgal

MUMBAI: The surprise monetary easing on Friday ignited an aggressive selling of Nifty put options, indicating that India's benchmark stock index is poised for a surge when the market opens on Monday.

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) transmitted a clear signal for growth, slashing the benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) and the cash reserve ratio requirement (CRR) by 100 bps. Traders responded by selling a huge quantum of put options at Nifty's 25,000 level, reflecting the belief that the index would clock smart gains on Monday.

Open interest (OI) in Nifty's weekly 25000 strike put expiring on Thursday rose a whopping 470% to 83,472 contracts on Friday after the policy announcement. Open interest is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts.