The 50-share S&P CNX Nifty finally settled at 5,505.90 after losing 6.25 points or 0.11%. Nifty February 2011 futures closed at 5524.40, at a premium of 18.50 points over spot closing of 5505.90, while Nifty March 2011 futures were at 5540.00, at a premium of 34.10 points over spot closing. The near month February 2011 derivatives contracts expire on Thursday, February 24, 2011. Nifty February futures saw an addition of 13.07% or 2.67 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 23.09 mn units. For Nifty calls, 5600 strike price (SP) from the February series was the most active call with addition of 0.37 mn or 10.94%. Among Nifty puts, 5400SP from the February month expiry was the most active put with an addition of 0.87 mn or 13.03%. The maximum Call OI outstanding was at 5600 SP (3.76mn) and that for Puts at 5400 SP (7.62mn). The Nifty Put Call Ratio (PCR) OI wise stood at 1.15 for February-month contracts.

The 50-share NSE index fell 1.12 per cent to 5,450.35. The BSE Sensex fell as much as 1.6 per cent early on Monday, taking cues from lower other Asian markets as deadly protests in Egypt sparked fears of unrest throughout the Middle East and prompted sell-off of risky assets. Infosys and ICICI Bank led the losses in India. The main 30-share BSE index was down 1.4 per cent at 18,142.70 points by 0349 GMT, with all but one of its components in the red.