What to watch:If the spread persists 2-3 sessions, a pair-trade (long Realty, hedged against IT) becomes attractive. Single-sector bets are riskier on rotation days because index-level direction is muted.

Expiry in 2 days — different rules apply

With FIIs heavy short on futures going into expiry, expect option writers to defend high-OI strikes. Max-pain becomes a magnet, theta accelerates, and intraday moves get whippier than they look.

What to watch:Avoid carrying directional option longs through expiry without strong conviction — they bleed fast. Cash trades on the underlying indices are cleaner this week than option spreads.

Why is it pricing this way?

Overnight Setup global & macro backdrop

Overnight Global Cues

Risk-on overnight

S&P -0.01% · Nikkei +3.26%

Macro Backdrop

Crude / USDINR

Crude $87.0 (+2.5%) · USDINR 96.56 (+0.07%)

Where is money moving today?

Sector Money Flow based on sector-index momentum

↑Money flowing IN

Realty

+1.38%

Auto

+1.24%

FMCG

+0.70%

Infra

+0.49%

PSU Banks

+0.41%

Pharma

+0.34%

↓Money flowing OUT

-0.61%

Metal

-0.47%

Banks

-0.19%

Energy

-0.17%

Gold

4,143.5

+1.78%

Silver

60.2

+2.34%

Copper

6.5

-0.58%

Crude

87.0

+2.47%

USDINR

96.56

+0.07%

10Y UST

4.66%

+0.63%

What are derivative traders doing?

NIFTY Option Chain nearest expiry 2026-07-28 · spot 23,996 · EOD 2026-07-22

Writers expect Nifty between 24,000 and 24,200 this week — +0.8% upside, +0.0% downside.

unbalanced

Call OI (writers)	Strike	Put OI (writers)
87,685	23400	3,278,535
28,340	23450	1,847,170
861,965	23500	8,340,410
37,115	23550	1,251,835 IV 14% Δ -0.13 θ -7.2 ν 7
246,545	23600	4,276,805 IV 14% Δ -0.16 θ -8.0 ν 7
45,695 IV 8% Δ 0.93 θ -6.7 ν 4	23650	1,089,855 IV 14% Δ -0.19 θ -8.8 ν 8
263,900 IV 9% Δ 0.88 θ -8.5 ν 6	23700	5,435,105 IV 14% Δ -0.22 θ -9.6 ν 9
123,630 IV 10% Δ 0.82 θ -10.1 ν 8	23750	1,062,165 IV 14% Δ -0.26 θ -10.3 ν 10
955,240 IV 10% Δ 0.76 θ -11.3 ν 10	23800	5,496,595 IV 14% Δ -0.30 θ -11.0 ν 11
274,755 IV 11% Δ 0.70 θ -12.5 ν 11	23850	1,151,020 IV 14% Δ -0.34 θ -11.6 ν 11
1,712,620 IV 11% Δ 0.65 θ -12.9 ν 11	23900	4,071,600 IV 14% Δ -0.38 θ -12.0 ν 12
2,616,640 IV 11% Δ 0.59 θ -13.3 ν 12	23950	3,764,735 IV 14% Δ -0.43 θ -12.3 ν 12
13,881,465 IV 11% Δ 0.53 θ -13.6 ν 12	24000 S	12,938,120 IV 14% Δ -0.48 θ -12.2 ν 12
4,978,350 IV 11% Δ 0.47 θ -13.5 ν 12	24050	2,714,855 IV 14% Δ -0.52 θ -12.3 ν 12
9,405,370 IV 11% Δ 0.41 θ -13.1 ν 12	24100 MP	5,466,890 IV 14% Δ -0.57 θ -12.0 ν 12
4,188,925 IV 11% Δ 0.36 θ -12.6 ν 12	24150	813,865 IV 15% Δ -0.61 θ -11.8 ν 12
15,557,815 IV 12% Δ 0.31 θ -11.7 ν 11	24200 R	7,984,470 IV 15% Δ -0.65 θ -11.3 ν 11
3,551,340 IV 12% Δ 0.27 θ -10.9 ν 10	24250	782,860 IV 15% Δ -0.68 θ -10.9 ν 11
7,718,555 IV 12% Δ 0.23 θ -10.0 ν 9	24300	2,479,165 IV 15% Δ -0.72 θ -10.1 ν 10
2,553,265 IV 12% Δ 0.19 θ -9.1 ν 8	24350	197,535 IV 16% Δ -0.75 θ -9.4 ν 10
5,310,760 IV 12% Δ 0.16 θ -8.1 ν 7	24400	1,044,875 IV 16% Δ -0.77 θ -9.4 ν 9
2,415,465 IV 12% Δ 0.13 θ -7.2 ν 7	24450	127,855 IV 17% Δ -0.79 θ -8.7 ν 9
9,936,615	24500	2,988,245 IV 17% Δ -0.81 θ -8.5 ν 8
2,011,230	24550	100,230 IV 18% Δ -0.83 θ -7.7 ν 8
5,646,745	24600	495,105 IV 18% Δ -0.84 θ -7.7 ν 7

What this tells you

Spot 23,996

Resistance (R) 24,200

Support (S) 24,000

Max Pain (MP) 24,100

Highest call-OI strike = where writers expect resistance. Highest put-OI strike = where writers expect support. Max-pain magnet pulls strongest in expiry week.

Strategy Builder multi-leg payoff for NIFTY options · 2026-07-28 expiry

Underlying: NIFTY · Spot: ₹ 23,996.25 · Expiry: 2026-07-28 · Lot: 75

Legs

Side

Type

Strike

Qty

Premium

Net premium—

Max profit—

Max loss—

Breakevens—

Position Delta—

Position Theta/day—

Position Vega/1% IV—

Payoff at expiry

F&O OI Buildup stock futures · total OI across all expiries · 2026-07-22

Long Buildup price up + OI up — fresh longs added

NESTLEIND

+2.95%

OI +6.5%

ASTRAL

+0.89%

OI +5.9%

SUPREMEIND

+1.52%

OI +3.2%

NHPC

+0.39%

OI +2.6%

INDUSINDBK

+0.36%

OI +2.3%

MCX

+0.18%

OI +1.7%

TITAN

+0.68%

OI +1.3%

COLPAL

+0.83%

OI +1.2%

Short Covering price up + OI down — shorts closing

EXIDEIND

+0.90%

OI -6.7%

POLYCAB

+2.32%

OI -5.3%

KALYANKJIL

+2.87%

OI -4.0%

YESBANK

+0.17%

OI -4.0%

PIDILITIND

+1.01%

OI -2.7%

CAMS

+0.73%

OI -2.1%

PETRONET

+0.99%

OI -1.8%

GODREJCP

+1.42%

OI -1.7%

Short Buildup price down + OI up — fresh shorts added

BANDHANBNK

-16.67%

OI +25.9%

SRF

-3.32%

OI +23.6%

BLUESTARCO

-2.48%

OI +7.5%

PREMIERENE

-2.63%

OI +7.3%

BPCL

-1.99%

OI +6.6%

BDL

-2.02%

OI +6.4%

MANKIND

-1.54%

OI +5.7%

MAZDOCK

-1.92%

OI +5.6%

Long Unwinding price down + OI down — longs closing

DELHIVERY

-3.90%

OI -8.0%

360ONE

-2.36%

OI -5.6%

NUVAMA

-0.53%

OI -5.6%

CIPLA

-1.27%

OI -4.4%

RBLBANK

-3.74%

OI -3.6%

HDFCAMC

-1.38%

OI -3.4%

ULTRACEMCO

-1.79%

OI -3.0%

ZYDUSLIFE

-1.88%

OI -2.8%

Unusual OI Buildup stocks with ±20%+ OI swings today · positioning outliers

Symbol	Classification	Price Δ	OI Δ
BANDHANBNK	Short Buildup	-16.67%	+25.9%
SRF	Short Buildup	-3.32%	+23.6%

Futures Basis Screener premium/discount of nearest-expiry futures to spot

↑ Premium · futures trading above spot

Symbol	Spot	Future	Basis %
VBL	458.25	460.65	+0.52%
COLPAL	2,107.10	2,116.10	+0.43%
INDUSTOWER	394.90	396.50	+0.41%
ABB	7,506.00	7,536.00	+0.40%
POWERINDIA	32,055.00	32,180.00	+0.39%
POLICYBZR	1,548.20	1,554.00	+0.38%
POLYCAB	9,090.50	9,124.50	+0.37%
BHARATFORG	2,185.50	2,193.50	+0.37%

↓ Discount · futures trading below spot

Symbol	Spot	Future	Basis %
HEROMOTOCO	4,987.10	4,913.90	-1.47%
ASTRAL	1,430.80	1,410.30	-1.43%
DLF	651.50	644.85	-1.02%
BHARTIARTL	1,949.00	1,929.80	-0.98%
WIPRO	174.44	172.75	-0.97%
CROMPTON	255.70	253.40	-0.90%
BDL	1,249.50	1,239.50	-0.80%
PIDILITIND	1,608.60	1,595.90	-0.79%

Top Traded F&O Contracts where derivative volume is concentrated today

Contract	Type	Close	Traded Value	OI	OI Δ
NIFTY26JUL24000PE	IDO	161.80	5.00 L Cr	12,214,930	+4,601,740
NIFTY26JUL24000CE	IDO	147.50	3.97 L Cr	13,445,965	+8,730,540
NIFTY26JUL24100CE	IDO	103.65	2.75 L Cr	9,040,655	+5,367,245
NIFTY26JUL23900PE	IDO	116.70	2.28 L Cr	3,953,950	+207,090
NIFTY26JUL24200CE	IDO	70.10	2.21 L Cr	15,121,080	+3,829,670
NIFTY26JUL23950PE	IDO	139.15	2.09 L Cr	3,613,350	+2,649,725
NIFTY26JUL24100PE	IDO	218.15	2.04 L Cr	5,286,450	+251,615
NIFTY26JUL24050CE	IDO	123.95	2.03 L Cr	4,797,325	+4,569,370
NIFTY26JUL24050PE	IDO	189.25	2.03 L Cr	2,667,795	+1,852,305
NIFTY26JUL23800PE	IDO	81.35	1.94 L Cr	5,398,250	+1,224,275
NIFTY26JUL23500PE	IDO	24.65	1.51 L Cr	8,311,160	+2,180,360
NIFTY26JUL24300CE	IDO	46.40	1.44 L Cr	7,545,525	+1,778,920

Who's actually moving the money?

Smart Counterparty Activity 22-Jul-2026

no institutional activity today · 130 deals totaling ₹2,796 Cr. Showing top 20 by value.

Stock	Type	Side	Qty	Value (₹ Cr)	Counterparty
BANDHANBNK Bandhan Bank Limited	Bulk	SELL	10,513,583	185.79	GRAVITON RESEARCH CAPITAL LLP
BANDHANBNK Bandhan Bank Limited	Bulk	BUY	10,513,583	185.58	GRAVITON RESEARCH CAPITAL LLP
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	SELL	1,537,479	122.92	JUNOMONETA FINSOL PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	BUY	1,535,561	122.75	JUNOMONETA FINSOL PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	SELL	1,478,427	117.67	MICROCURVES TRADING PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	BUY	1,478,492	117.63	MICROCURVES TRADING PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	BUY	1,156,867	92.19	QE SECURITIES LLP
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	SELL	1,152,794	91.36	QE SECURITIES LLP
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	SELL	773,790	61.20	ELIXIR WEALTH MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED
BLUESTONE BlueStone Jewel Lfstl Ltd	Bulk	BUY	772,790	60.92	ELIXIR WEALTH MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED
LOTUSDEV Sri Lotus Devlprs N Rty L	Bulk	BUY	3,779,898	60.51	MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LIMITED
LOTUSDEV Sri Lotus Devlprs N Rty L	Bulk	SELL	3,492,022	56.00	MANSUKH SECURITIES & FINANCE LIMITED
CYIENTDLM Cyient DLM Limited	Bulk	SELL	608,402	42.64	MICROCURVES TRADING PRIVATE LIMITED
CYIENTDLM Cyient DLM Limited	Bulk	BUY	608,402	42.62	MICROCURVES TRADING PRIVATE LIMITED
AASTHA Aastha Spintex Limited	Bulk	SELL	3,636,648	40.16	MANSI SHARE AND STOCK BROKING PRIVATE LIMITED
AASTHA Aastha Spintex Limited	Bulk	BUY	3,274,426	39.40	MANSI SHARE AND STOCK BROKING PRIVATE LIMITED
CYIENTDLM Cyient DLM Limited	Bulk	BUY	569,176	39.39	HRTI PRIVATE LIMITED
CYIENTDLM Cyient DLM Limited	Bulk	BUY	538,222	37.38	QE SECURITIES LLP
CYIENTDLM Cyient DLM Limited	Bulk	SELL	522,951	36.44	QE SECURITIES LLP
BLISSGVS Bliss GVS Pharma Ltd	Block	BUY	700,000	33.95	NOVA VIDA LIMITED

What are institutions positioned for?

Institutional Positioning how FIIs are set up under the surface

FII Futures Posture

Heavy Short

net-long ratio -57.4%

FII Direction Streak

1 sessions

net distributing futures

India VIX

12.60

Calm · -2.9% d/d

Days to Monthly Expiry

Thu, 26 Feb

Nifty PCR (EOD)

0.74

Bullish skew

Nifty Max Pain (EOD)

24,100

+0.43% above spot (23,996)

Any patterns firing?

Event Signals 2 firing today

FII Short Covering

FII index-futures shorts dropped 33.8% in a day

What it means:FII short positions on index futures dropped by 8% or more in a single day.

What it implies:Short sellers are buying back to close positions, removing downside pressure and often triggering a relief move. BankNifty has averaged +0.6% over the next 5 sessions (58% hit rate, n=24).

bullish

Monthly Expiry Imminent

Last Thursday of the month is Thu, 26 Feb — 2 day(s) away

What it means:Within 2 trading days of monthly F&O expiry (last Thursday).

What it implies:Option writers actively defend high-OI strikes near expiry. Theta accelerates, max-pain becomes a magnet, intraday moves get whippier. Context, not a prediction.

Experimental detector · insufficient historical fires to validate.

warning

Events Calendar next 3 weeks · earnings + macro releases + monthly expiry

2026-07-22

EARNINGS ADANIGREEN reports earnings EPS est: 5.43

EARNINGS ADANIPOWER reports earnings EPS est: 1.86

EARNINGS BPCL reports earnings EPS est: -9.4

EARNINGS DRREDDY reports earnings EPS est: 9.13444

EARNINGS ETERNAL reports earnings EPS est: 0.30111

2026-07-23

EARNINGS APLAPOLLO reports earnings EPS est: 9.76667

EARNINGS CIPLA reports earnings EPS est: 10.423

2026-07-24

EARNINGS BANKBARODA reports earnings EPS est: 5.222

EARNINGS CGPOWER reports earnings EPS est: 2.20429

EARNINGS CONCOR reports earnings EPS est: 4.145

EARNINGS DALBHARAT reports earnings EPS est: 13.29833

EARNINGS DIXON reports earnings EPS est: 37.978

2026-07-25

EARNINGS AUBANK reports earnings EPS est: 10.795

2026-07-27

EARNINGS BEL reports earnings EPS est: 1.45

EARNINGS CANBK reports earnings EPS est: 4.72

EARNINGS COALINDIA reports earnings EPS est: 13.19726

EARNINGS COFORGE reports earnings EPS est: 13.71941

2026-07-28

EARNINGS AMBUJACEM reports earnings EPS est: 1.98667

EARNINGS CHOLAFIN reports earnings EPS est: 18.35

2026-07-29

FED US Fed FOMC Decision Fed funds rate decision

EARNINGS ADANIENT reports earnings EPS est: 14.17

EARNINGS ADANIPORTS reports earnings EPS est: 15.47667

EARNINGS ASIANPAINT reports earnings EPS est: 12.69596

EARNINGS COLPAL reports earnings EPS est: 12.66

EARNINGS DABUR reports earnings EPS est: 3.14889

EARNINGS GMRAIRPORT reports earnings EPS est: 0.3

2026-07-30

EARNINGS BAJFINANCE reports earnings EPS est: 13.7

EARNINGS EICHERMOT reports earnings EPS est: 51.58875

EARNINGS EXIDEIND reports earnings EPS est: 4.03

EXPIRY NIFTY / BankNifty Monthly F&O Expiry Theta accelerates; max-pain magnet near close

2026-07-31

EARNINGS ABB reports earnings EPS est: 21.10399

EARNINGS ABCAPITAL reports earnings EPS est: 4.69

EARNINGS BAJAJFINSV reports earnings EPS estimate unavailable

EARNINGS BAJAJHLDNG reports earnings EPS estimate unavailable

EARNINGS DELHIVERY reports earnings EPS est: 0.66667

EARNINGS GAIL reports earnings EPS est: 3.46871

2026-08-01

EARNINGS DIVISLAB reports earnings EPS est: 24.67667

2026-08-03

EARNINGS CAMS reports earnings EPS est: 15.3

2026-08-04

EARNINGS AUROPHARMA reports earnings EPS est: 17.2625

EARNINGS BHARTIARTL reports earnings EPS est: 13.76515

EARNINGS DLF reports earnings EPS est: 3.5

EARNINGS GODREJPROP reports earnings EPS est: 19.6

2026-08-05

EARNINGS BHARATFORG reports earnings EPS est: 7.95667

EARNINGS BRITANNIA reports earnings EPS est: 25.08333

EARNINGS CUMMINSIND reports earnings EPS est: 21.692

EARNINGS HEROMOTOCO reports earnings EPS est: 63.75

2026-08-06

EARNINGS BIOCON reports earnings EPS est: 1.005

EARNINGS BLUESTARCO reports earnings EPS est: 7.73333

EARNINGS CROMPTON reports earnings EPS est: 2.206

EARNINGS FORTIS reports earnings EPS est: 3.75333

EARNINGS GRASIM reports earnings EPS est: 31.97

2026-08-07

EARNINGS GODREJCP reports earnings EPS est: 5.2125

2026-08-08

RBI RBI Monetary Policy Decision Repo rate decision + MPC statement

2026-08-10

EARNINGS BOSCHLTD reports earnings EPS estimate unavailable

2026-08-11

EARNINGS BDL reports earnings EPS est: 3.055

EARNINGS HAL reports earnings EPS est: 23.17

2026-08-12

CPI India CPI Inflation (Jul) Headline + core inflation print

CPI US CPI Inflation (Jul) Drives Fed rate-cut expectations

EARNINGS ALKEM reports earnings EPS est: 47.04429

EARNINGS APOLLOHOSP reports earnings EPS est: 38.30609

Have we been right before?

Signal Calendar last 14 weeks

Bullish Bearish Warning Quiet

FII Positioning Detail

FII Index Futures net-long ratio -57.4% -15.84 pp

FII calls long Δ -434,301

FII puts long Δ -451,458

FII calls short Δ -324,047

FII puts short Δ -425,932

Recent Signals click a date to revisit that day's dashboard

2026-02-24

FII Short Covering Monthly Expiry Imminent *

2026-02-23

FII Fresh Shorting

2026-02-19

DII Futures Unwind *

2026-02-13

FII Distribution Underway

2026-02-10

Smart Money Accumulating

2026-02-03

Smart Money Accumulating FII Short Covering Possible Retail Trap (Bullish Side) * DII Futures Build-up *

2026-01-29

Monthly Expiry Imminent * DII Futures Build-up *

2026-01-28

Monthly Expiry Imminent * DII Futures Unwind *

2026-01-27

FII Short Covering Monthly Expiry Imminent *

2026-01-23

FII Fresh Shorting

2026-01-09

FII Fresh Shorting

Smart-Money Flow Tracker for Indian Markets live FII / DII positioning, F&O OI buildup, bulk deals & option chain · 2026-02-24 · vs 2026-02-23

Stock Heatmap NIFTY 500 universe · sized by traded value · click any cell for details

Futures Heatmap F&O stocks · sized by futures traded value · coloured by OI buildup class

Stocks in Play last session's positioning · click any card for full detail

Market Pulse where things stand right now

Top Nifty Contributors stocks moving the index most today (weighted)

Smart Money Take interpretation, not just data

Overnight Setup global & macro backdrop

Sector Money Flow based on sector-index momentum

NIFTY Option Chain nearest expiry 2026-07-28 · spot 23,996 · EOD 2026-07-22

What this tells you

Strategy Builder multi-leg payoff for NIFTY options · 2026-07-28 expiry

Legs

Payoff at expiry

F&O OI Buildup stock futures · total OI across all expiries · 2026-07-22

Unusual OI Buildup stocks with ±20%+ OI swings today · positioning outliers

Futures Basis Screener premium/discount of nearest-expiry futures to spot

↑ Premium · futures trading above spot

↓ Discount · futures trading below spot

Top Traded F&O Contracts where derivative volume is concentrated today

Smart Counterparty Activity 22-Jul-2026

Institutional Positioning how FIIs are set up under the surface

Event Signals 2 firing today

Events Calendar next 3 weeks · earnings + macro releases + monthly expiry

Signal Calendar last 14 weeks

FII Positioning Detail

Recent Signals click a date to revisit that day's dashboard

Live data hubs

Guides & explainers

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