Snapping 5-day gaining streak, Indian equity benchmark -- Nifty ended lower on Thursday as renewed geopolitical jitters in West Asia. Index made negative start after Iran said the U.S of violating elements of a two-week ceasefire agreement, raising concerns that tensions could escalate again and disrupt energy supplies. Soon, index extended its losses as traders opted to book profit after recent rally. Besides, cautiousness prevailed with persistent foreign fund outflow. As per exchange data, foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 2,811.97 crore on Wednesday. Further, Brent crude oil prices surged to trade near $98 a barrel, which weighted on market sentiments. Traders overlooked report that the World Bank marginally raised India's growth projections for the 2026-27 fiscal year to 6.6%. It noted that although GST rate cuts would boost consumer demand in the initial months of the fiscal year, headwinds from the Middle East crisis could affect growth. In second half of the session, index remained under pressure and continued its pessimistic trade till end of the session. Finally, Nifty ended below 23,800 mark.

India Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge for market’s short-term expectation of volatility increased by 3.70% and reached 20.43. The 50 share Nifty down by 222.25 point or 0.93% to settle at 23,775.10.

Nifty April 2026 futures closed at 23864.50 (LTP) on Thursday, at a premium of 89.40 points over spot closing of 23775.10, while Nifty May 2026 futures ended at 23986.00 (LTP), at a premium of 210.90 points over spot closing. Nifty April futures saw a contraction of 107 units, taking the total open interest (Contracts) to 3,09,780 units. The near month derivatives contract will expire on April 28, 2026. (Provisional)

From the most active contracts, HDFC Bank April 2026 futures traded at a premium of 2.20 points at 800.20 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 798.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 66,384. (Provisional)

Tata Consultancy Services April 2026 futures traded at a discount of 10.80 points at 2579.20 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 2590.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 36,863. (Provisional)

Infosys April 2026 futures traded at a premium of 1.20 points at 1332.70 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1331.50. The numbers of contracts traded were 26,073. (Provisional)

Reliance Industries April 2026 futures traded at a premium of 6.90 points at 1336.90 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1330.00. The numbers of contracts traded were 17,674. (Provisional)

ICICI Bank April 2026 futures traded at a premium of 4.50 points at 1288.00 (LTP) compared with spot closing of 1283.50. The numbers of contracts traded were 16,539. (Provisional)

Among, Nifty calls, 24000 SP from the April month expiry was the most active call with an addition of 11,967 units open interests. Among Nifty puts, 24000 SP from the April month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 6,620 units open interests. The maximum OI outstanding for Calls was at 24000 SP (75,995 units) and that for Puts was at 23000 SP (74,119 units). The respective Support and Resistance levels of Nifty are: Resistance 23949.63 -- Pivot Point 23816.22 -- Support 23641.68.

The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) finally stood at (0.98) for April month contract. The top five scrips with highest PCR on Tata Consumer Products (1.59), SBI Life Insurance Company (1.50), Dalmia Bharat (1.42), The Phoenix Mills (1.29), and Bank of India (1.19).

Among most active underlying HDFC Bank witnessed an addition of 21,562 units of Open Interest in the April month futures, Tata Consultancy Services witnessed an addition of 3,609 units of Open Interest in the April month future, BSE witnessed an addition of 1,968 units of Open Interest in the April month future, ICICI Bank witnessed an addition of 2,372 units of Open Interest in the April month futures and Infosys witnessed an addition of 640 units of Open Interest in the April month futures. (Provisional).