Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty witnessed heavy selling pressure on Thursday, dragged down by Auto, Realty and banking stocks. Index made a gap-down start, as Brent crude surpasses $100 per barrel mark amid escalating tensions involving Iran and Israel have disrupted tanker movement near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil routes. Additionally, persistent foreign fund outflows dampened investors' sentiments. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

In the afternoon session, the market recovered slightly from the day’s low after reports suggested that Indian oil will get safe passage through Hormuz. As per a private report, Iran allowed Indian oil tankers to pass through the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz after talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. However, the index failed to sustain the recovery and eventually settled deep in the red, as uncertainty mounted over a new trade probe by the Trump administration signaling potential U.S. tariffs.

Most sectoral indices ended in the red, except Oil & Gas, Metal and media stocks. The top gainers from the F&O segment were JSW Energy, Coal India and SRF. On the other hand, the top losers were Piramal Pharma, IndusInd Bank and TVS Motor Company. In the index option segment, maximum OI continues to be seen in the 25900 - 26100 calls and 22900 - 23100 puts indicating this is the trading range expectation.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility increased by 2.16% and reached 21.52. The 50 share Nifty down by 227.70 point or 0.95% to settle at 23,639.15.

Nifty March 2026 futures closed at 23718.00 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 78.85 points over spot closing of 23639.15, while Nifty April 2026 futures ended at 23884.00 (LTP), at a premium of 244.85 points over spot closing. Nifty March futures saw an addition of 9,243 units, taking the total outstanding open interest (Contracts) to 2,87,356 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on March 30, 2026. (Provisional) 

From the most active contracts, HDFC Bank March 2026 futures traded at a premium of 1.65 points at 834.95 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 833.30. The numbers of contracts traded were 46,731. (Provisional) 

Reliance Industries March 2026 futures traded at a premium of 6.30 points at 1396.30 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1390.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 34,916. (Provisional) 

ICICI Bank March 2026 futures traded at a premium of 5.70 points at 1275.60 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1269.90. The numbers of contracts traded were 23,853. (Provisional) 

Infosys March 2026 futures traded at a premium of 4.60 points at 1270.50 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1265.90. The numbers of contracts traded were 22,018. (Provisional) 

State Bank of India March 2026 futures traded at a premium of 4.30 points at 1089.30 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1085.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 20,214. (Provisional

Among, Nifty calls, 25000 SP from the March month expiry was the most active call with a contraction of 3,531 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 23000 SP from the March month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 2,898 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 26000 SP (99,695 units) and that for Puts was at 23000 SP (87,583 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 23,796.10 -- Pivot Point 23,676.20 -- Support 23,519.25.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (1.09) for March month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Dalmia Bharat (1.34), RBL Bank (1.17), Jindal Steel (1.14), REC (1.06), and Tata Power Company (1.03).

Among most active underlying, Reliance Industries witnessed an addition of 3,037 units of Open Interest in the March month future, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 5,320 units of Open Interest in the March month future, HDFC Bank witnessed a contraction of 2,133 units of Open Interest in the March month futures, State Bank of India witnessed an addition of 2,975 units of Open Interest in the March month futures, and Coal India witnessed an addition of 3,851 units of Open Interest in the March month futures. (Provisional).