Sensex Closed at 18296, down with 142 points, The BSE Sensex declined 142.15 points or 0.77 %, The index touched a high and a low of 18,457.90 and 18,187.33, respectively. While nifty - 50 index closed at 5496.20 down with 0.90%.The index touched a high and a low of 5519.45 and 5,437.30, respectively.

Nifty February 2011 futures closed at 5,476.10, at a premium of 6.90 over spot closing of 5,469.20, while Nifty March 2011 futures were at 5,490.50, at a premium of 21.30 points over spot closing. The near month February 2011 derivatives contract expire on Thursday, February 24, 2011. Nifty February futures saw an addition of 8.64% or 2.02 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 25.44 mn units.

For Nifty calls, 5500 strike price (SP) from the February series was the most active call with an addition of 1.64 mn or 22.46%. Among Nifty puts, 5500 SP from the February month expiry was the most active put with a contraction of 0.40mn or 5.33%.