foreign book
−2,88,428
net short the index
over 5 sessions
−6,584
index futures, net contracts
over 20 sessions
−76,315
about a trading month
domestic book
+12,967
long the index, hedged with puts
India VIX
11.4
calm for the past year

What each participant holds

Fri 18 Sep 2026
whothe bookfutures netcalls netputs net5 sessions20 sessionsover the month
Foreign investorsnet short the index−2,88,428−2,68,402+6,30,453−6,584−76,315
−76,315
Domestic institutionslong the index, hedged with puts+12,967+5,619+57,285−1,925−14,311
−14,311
Proprietary deskslong the index, hedged with puts+34,041+29,767+1,08,858−1,940+22,511
+22,511
Retail and other clientsnet long the index+2,41,420+2,33,015−7,96,597+10,449+68,115
+68,115
For NIFTYforeign investors are net short the index; futures book −6,584 contracts over five sessions

Where each book sits against its own year

Fri 18 Sep 2026
BookAgainst its own yearOver 5 sessionsOver 20 sessionsCash and futures together
Retail and other clients100 in 100+10,449+68,115not both books yet
Domestic institutions2 in 100−1,925−14,311added cash holdings and index longs together
Foreign investors1 in 100−6,584−76,315added cash holdings and index longs together
Proprietary desks93 in 100−1,940+22,511not both books yet

Where each book sits against its own past year, and how it has changed — never the size of it. The foreign futures book has been net short on nearly every session since 2012 because those investors hold Indian shares and hedge them, so the size on its own says what they own rather than what they expect. The last column needs both the cash and the futures side of the same session. The foreign futures book sits lower than on all but 1 sessions in 100 of the past year, over 252 past sessions.

One reading for both indices: the exchange publishes this once a session and in aggregate, never split by index.

Where the foreign book has grown, and where it has shrunk

By where NIFTY was trading

Fri 18 Sep 2026

the book has grown most on sessions in the 25,500–25,750 band and shrunk most in the 25,250–25,500 band.

where NIFTY wasaddedshednetsessions
22,000–22,2501,16836,080
−34,912
4 · too few
22,250–22,50018,77415,090
+3,684
7 · too few
22,500–22,75049,72924,743
+24,986
10 · too few
22,750–23,0001,36,51774,676
+61,841
15 · too few
23,000–23,2501,52,5001,53,839
−1,339
25
23,250–23,50068,0681,73,417
−1,05,349
28
23,500–23,7501,94,9503,04,834
−1,09,884
33
23,750–24,0003,10,5132,79,677
+30,836
36
24,000–24,2502,53,0783,00,650
−47,572
52
24,250–24,5002,96,2461,69,974
+1,26,272
47
24,500–24,75095,8072,54,148
−1,58,341
41
24,750–25,0001,16,2153,54,028
−2,37,813
42
25,000–25,2501,63,8612,72,200
−1,08,339
44
25,250–25,50052,8132,80,181
−2,27,368
23
25,500–25,7501,86,78968,980
+1,17,809
24
25,750–26,0003,19,4952,09,016
+1,10,479
38
26,000–26,25085,45172,259
+13,192
25
26,250–26,50015,9030
+15,903
2 · too few

Over the past 2 years, in bands of 250 points. Read as "on sessions NIFTY spent here, the index book grew" — never as "they bought NIFTY futures at that level".

For NIFTYthe book has grown most on sessions in the 25,500–25,750 band and shrunk most in the 25,250–25,500 band; the book has grown faster on sessions above the average than below it; participant open interest is published once a session and across all indices together

By how far NIFTY was from its own average

the book has grown faster on sessions above the average than below it.

where NIFTY wasaddedshednetsessions
far below average26,05,97828,13,203
−2,07,225
379
well below13,81,38416,68,585
−2,87,201
224
below6,47,08418,44,080
−11,96,996
149
around the average16,52,08317,69,531
−1,17,448
224
above20,45,87512,46,108
+7,99,767
224
well above21,69,97325,07,953
−3,37,980
336
far above average1,37,37,8081,29,10,173
+8,27,635
2,061

3,598 sessions, from 21 Feb 2012.

What the volatility index has been worth

India VIX against NIFTY

Fri 18 Sep 2026

with the option market calm, NIFTY has moved about 1.3% either way over the following five sessions — 521 past cases

when the option market wasVIX, typicallywhat NIFTY did next, five sessionsmoved more than 2%what the option market asked forpast cases
very calm12.81.0% either way19 in 1001.8%794
calmtoday14.51.3% either way28 in 1002.0%521
ordinary16.11.4% either way31 in 1002.3%554
busy16.41.4% either way35 in 1002.3%572
very busy19.41.7% either way43 in 1002.7%572

the option market asked for 0.7 percentage points more than the index went on to deliver.

calmest year on recordmost braced
calmer than most of the past year
For NIFTYthe option market is calm, calmer than most of the past year; NIFTY went on to move about 1.3% either way over the following five sessions, across 521 past cases

Overnight and global

Fri 18 Sep 2026
GIFT Nifty (NSE IX futures)−5.2%
23,339.0030 sessions
S&P 500−0.9%
7,637.7630 sessions
Nasdaq 100+0.3%
29,446.9830 sessions
Dow Jones Industrial Average−3.9%
51,778.0430 sessions
Nikkei 225−2.2%
64,136.2530 sessions
Hang Seng−4.1%
24,604.2930 sessions
CBOE VIX+3.6%
15.4430 sessions
US Dollar Index+0.3%
100.3130 sessions
USD / INR+1.0%
96.1330 sessions
US 10-year Treasury yield+5.9%
4.9530 sessions
Brent crude+28.3%
105.8330 sessions
Gold−0.3%
4,387.8030 sessions

2026-08-10 to 2026-09-18, 30 sessions. Every panel starts at 100 on its own first session and is drawn on the same scale, so the shapes compare; the figure beside each name is the actual move.

serieslastover the windowsessions
GIFT Nifty (NSE IX futures)23,339.00−5.25%30
S&P 5007,637.76−0.94%30
Nasdaq 10029,446.98+0.25%30
Dow Jones Industrial Average51,778.04−3.91%30
Nikkei 22564,136.25−2.24%30
Hang Seng24,604.29−4.14%30
CBOE VIX15.44+3.62%30
US Dollar Index100.31+0.34%30
USD / INR96.13+0.97%30
US 10-year Treasury yield4.95+5.93%30
Brent crude105.83+28.29%30
Gold4,387.80−0.27%30
For NIFTYovernight: GIFT Nifty (NSE IX futures) −5.25%, Hang Seng −4.14%, Dow Jones Industrial Average −3.91%; only the relationships measured over the past year are shown