Nifty 50 (24,176) was down 0.3 per cent last week, registering its third consecutive weekly loss. Nevertheless, the losses were marginal and do not appear to be a threat for the broader uptrend as yet.

On the other hand, Nifty Bank (57,496) was down 0.5 per cent last week. Unlike Nifty 50, the banking index has largely been flat in recent weeks. Below is an analysis of futures and options data of both indices.

Nifty futures (Sep) (24,342) remained volatile through the last week and posted a loss of 0.2 per cent. As this happened, the outstanding open interest of this contract more than doubled to nearly 155 lakh contracts during this period. This denotes short build-up.

However, one should note that the August expiry was on Tuesday (August 25) and therefore, a considerable number of open interest can be associated with traders rolling over their existing positions. That said, the bearish bias cannot be ignored.

With respect to options, the Put Call Ratio (PCR) of September monthly contracts stood at 1.2 on Friday, a positive sign. Because a ratio greater than 1 is due to relatively higher put option selling and traders sell puts when they are optimistic.

Therefore, futures and options data together do not give a definite signal. But the charts retain the positive inclination as the key support level holds despite last week’s decline.

The chart of September futures shows that the base at 24,250 holds well. Since the contract is now hovering near the support, there is a good chance for a rebound from the current level of 24,342.

We expect Nifty futures to establish a fresh leg of uptrend soon, which can lift it to 24,750 in the near-term. Instead, if it breaches the base at 24,250, it can see a quick drop to 24,100. If 24,100 is invalidated, the near-term outlook can turn bearish. 

Strategy: Last week, we suggested buying Nifty futures (Sep) if it slips to 24,300. Retain this trade and maintain the stop-loss at 24,080. Target can be 24,750. 

Nifty Bank futures (Sep) (57,859) shed 0.5 per cent over the last week. Like in Nifty futures, the decline was accompanied by an increase in the outstanding open interest. That is, it shot up from 9.2 lakh contracts to 20.1 lakh contracts over the past week. This indicates short build-up.

On the other hand, the PCR of September options stood at 1.1 on Friday, showing that option traders are a little bullish on the index.

While the derivatives data lack clear conviction, the chart also shows a tug of war between bulls and bears with no clear winner emerging as of now.

The September contract has been consolidating recently. It has been oscillating between 57,500 and 58,500 since the beginning of August. Only if Nifty Bank futures breaks out of this price band, we can be certain about the path of the next trend.

That said, since the broader trend has been bullish and that the support at 57,500 is holding well, there is a positive bias.

A breakout of 58,500 can trigger a rally to 59,300 and subsequently to 60,000. However, if the contract breaches the support at 57,500, it can result in a decline to 57,000. Potential support below 57,000 is at 56,500.

Strategy: We recommended buying Nifty Bank futures (Sep) at 58,044 last week. Hold on to this trade. Have a stop-loss at 57,300. Book profits at 59,300.

Published on August 29, 2026