01Cold open: round four, priced for boredom
Today is the Sensex expiry. Last Thursday the auction moved the Sensex almost 300 points in the last two minutes. Everybody remembers it. So what does the market price for round four this morning? Around 10 percent IV, cheaper than the last three rounds of almost 13 to 14 percent.
The Sensex straddle is trading around 374 rupees for the day. 36 lakh calls are pressed on the 77,000 strike, 24 lakh of which were added yesterday. And the clients walk in short a fifth record put book of almost 7 lakh carried overnight. Expiry decides at 3:30, then the uncross decides after 3:26.
02The Sensex board: first close below 77,000
The Sensex closed yesterday at 76,910, just below the 77,000 strike, 325 points lower, 0.42 percent, the first close below that strike. The expiry future remained at almost 77,081, basis points above the spot close. Max pain stands at around 77,000, 90 points above the spot.
The fight, 77,000, has 25 lakh calls with 24 lakh added yesterday, and around 17 lakh puts sold at the same strike. Support is at 76,900 to 77,000 where 19 lakh puts sit with almost 16 lakh added. The first actual resistance is 77,500, where the magnet should shift after the open, with around 28 lakh calls. The PCR is almost 0.57, decisively call heavy. Negative gamma below 76,900 to 77,000, and above 77,000 the steam gets to 77,500. Indicative is not the close. Flat into the window.
03The Nifty: seventh straight lower close
We closed at 24,078, down 76 points, the seventh straight lower close. The staircase trend has remained, from 24,472 to almost 24,078, almost 400 points down in seven sessions. The low was 24,025, so the 24,000 base case held nicely. VIX was 11.33. The defence sector was down 1.49 percent, the defensive lean cracked, and IT was the only green at 0.73 percent.
And another wild late print near 24,200 in the Nifty's closing session before settling around 24,078. That happened in the cash. The daily uncross circus continues in the cash session.
04The clients: a fifth record
The clients' naked put book started at 5.74 lakh, then 6.08, then 6.61, yesterday 6.97, and finally we closed at 7.13 lakh puts sold. Plus 2.73 lakh calls bought.
Seven red days, five records. Nobody has ever needed five warnings, and the clients are still holding that, and we should give it to them, where today they are going to get paid on the gap up.
05The pros and the FIIs: the lean got booked
The pros bought back the entire 0.7 lakh call short at the lows. The month's only directional lean got covered, a swing of 1.05 lakh calls. Their book is now exactly the opposite of yesterday, long calls of 0.33 lakh and almost one lakh long puts, back to long vol and long straddle.
The lesson, they picked a side on Tuesday, melted for two days, booked it at the bottom. That is how a lean is traded. And the FII futures short remains at 2.10 lakh, first time over 2 lakh this month, call short almost 3.14 lakh, first time over 3 lakh. FII cash bought 408 crore, and the DIIs bought 3,974 crore, the biggest cheque in the last eight sessions.
06The Nifty board: every strike is written
The BhavCopy tells us max pain stands at the same 24,250 to 24,300 levels, 150 to 170 points above the spot close, and we open around 24,200. Call writers are at 24,100 with 79 lakh added, 24,200 with almost 1.1 crore, 24,300 with 1.16 crore and 36 lakh added, and the last strike 24,500 with 1.49 crore. Roughly two crore calls got added in one session, every round strike is sold.
Support is present nicely at 24,000 with 1.37 crore puts as the base. PCR 0.7, the weekly straddle around 235 giving a range of around 270 points, 24,000 to 24,300, so we still trade the same zone. Front IV just below 10. Resistance now sits at every 100 points from 24,100 to 24,500.
07The plan: sell 77,500, buy the Nifty dip
Sensex first. 77,000 is the sustained side where we look at the bottom. The first real resistance is 77,500 with almost 28 lakh calls written, so we could see oscillation there, and selling 77,500 for today's expiry would be a good trade. On the bottom side, if 77,000 breaks, the first support is 76,800, unlikely but keep a watch. The straddle at 374 gives an opening range of almost 76,900 to 77,800, an 800 point width. Don't carry anything into the last window, the Sensex expiry moves drastically in the last few minutes.
On the Nifty, the 170 point gap up opens into the fresh resistance zone of 24,300. Seven lower closes and we are finally going to see an up day. Reclaim and hold 24,250 for the first few hours and we could see 24,300 breached, then 24,500. One green day does not change the size rule, small defined risk, because the market below 24,300 is not a good close. Globally the KOSPI is up 6 percent fully rebounding yesterday's crash, gold at a record 4,528, Brent 91.92 still above 90, and USD INR at another record 95.76.