Market watch: What does the F&O market suggest about trade on January 12?

Max pain at the end of today's trade stands at 18000.

The bulls continue to hold a tight grip on the market now. Nifty 50 for the second day in a row has closed above the 18000 level. Though the global set-up was not very encouraging, Nifty 50 continued with its gain for the third straight day. It closed with a gain of 0.29 per cent at 18055.57. Nifty VIX continues to hover around the 18 mark and even today closed with a gain of 0.45 per cent. Hence, for the next couple of days, we may see higher volatility.   

Activity on the F&O front for weekly expiry on January 13 shows 18500 to act as a strong resistance now. Highest open interest contract of 107877 stood at this strike price. The second-highest call option open interest 101383 for Nifty 50 stood at a strike price of 18400. In terms of the highest addition of open interest in the call options front, it was at 18500 in the last trading session. A total of 106754 open interest was added at this strike price.

In terms of put activity, the highest put writing was seen at a strike price of 17500 (96159) open interest added on (11-Jan-2022), followed by 17800 where (94574) open interest added on January 11. Highest total put open interest (96759) stood at a strike price of 17500. This is followed by a strike price of 17800, which saw a total put option open interest of 94641 contracts. 

The Nifty 50 put call ratio (PCR) closed at 1.15 for the day. A PCR above 1 is considered bullish while a PCR below 1 is considered bearish. 

Max pain at the end of today's trade stands at 18000.