Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty -- ended marginally lower on Wednesday amid Trump’s tariff jitters. Index made a flat-to-negative start followed by mostly negative cues from Wall Street overnight. Soon, index turned volatile as traders remained on sideline ahead of Trump’s tariff deadline and kick start of Q1 earning season. Sentiments remained weak as Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on copper imports and hinted at a potential 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals. However, losses remind capped as market participants took note of Regional PF Commissioner-I Randhir Kumar of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) statement that the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) announced in the budget for 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs 1 lakh crore, will promote job creation and provide social security. In afternoon session, index continued its choppy trade. However, in last leg of the trade, index intensified its losses and closed below 25,500 mark.

Traders were seen piling up positions in FMCG, Consumer Durables and Auto stocks, while selling was witnessed in Realty, Metal and Oil & Gas. The top gainers from the F&O segment were PG Electroplast, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, and RBL Bank. On the other hand, the top losers were GAIL (India), Max Healthcare Institute and Union Bank of India. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 25900 - 26100 calls and 24900 - 25100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility decreased by 2.09% and reached 11.94. The 50 share Nifty down by 46.40 point or 0.18% to settle at 25,476.10.

Nifty July 2025 futures closed at 25550.00 (LTP) on Wednesday, at a premium of 73.90 points over spot closing of 25476.10, while Nifty August 2025 futures ended at 25656.10 (LTP), at a premium of 180.00 points over spot closing. Nifty July futures saw an additional of 2,666 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 1,80,559 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on July 31, 2025. (Provisional)

From the most active contracts, Vedanta July 2025 futures traded at a premium of 0.70 points at 442.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 441.30. The numbers of contracts traded were 57,274. (Provisional)

Reliance Industries July 2025 futures traded at a premium of 5.60 points at 1526.10 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1520.50. The numbers of contracts traded were 29,532. (Provisional)

Tata Consultancy Services July 2025 futures traded at a premium of 1.80 points at 3387.80 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 3386.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 21,859. (Provisional)

Asian Paints July 2025 futures traded at a premium of 7.70 points at 2505.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2497.30. The numbers of contracts traded were 17,496. (Provisional)

Infosys July 2025 futures traded at a premium of 1.90 points at 1634.60 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1632.70. The numbers of contracts traded were 16,036. (Provisional)

Among, Nifty calls, 26000 SP from the July month expiry was the most active call with an additional of 3,470 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 25500 SP from the July month expiry was the most active put with a contraction of 5,864 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 26000 SP (73,335 units) and that for Puts was at 25000 SP (96,862 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 25541.75 -- Pivot Point 25483.05 -- Support 25417.40.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.19) for July month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Blue Star (1.27), One97 Communications (1.15), Dabur India (1.08), Havells India (1.03) and Laurus Labs (1.00).

Among most active underlying Vedanta witnessed an additional of 7,326 units of Open Interest in the July month future, Reliance Industries witnessed an additional of 3,466 units of Open Interest in the July month future, BSE witnessed a contraction of 322 units of Open Interest in the July month futures, ICICI Bank witnessed an additional of 4,015 units of Open Interest in the July month futures and Tata Consultancy Services witnessed an additional of 5,552 units of Open Interest in the July month futures. (Provisional).