BSE Index closed at 18727, down by 18 points, while Nifty Index shut up at 5625, down by 7 points. Selling pressure was witnessed in some of the Sensex stocks namely BHEL that fell on reports that the Union Cabinet is likely to approve the disinvestment of 5% government stake in the state-run firm next week. RIL also showed persistent weakness.

Nifty July 2011 futures closed at 5,636.00, at a premium of 10.55 point over spot closing of 5,625.45, while Nifty August 2011 futures were at 5,651.05 at a premium of 25.60 points over spot closing. The near month July 2011 derivatives contract expires on Thursday, 28 July, 2011. Nifty July futures saw an addition of 4.40% or 0.94 million (mn) units, taking the total outstanding open interest (OI) to 22.52 mn units.

Among Nifty calls, 5700 SP from the July month expiry was the most active call with addition of 0.61 million or 11.79%. Among Nifty puts, 5600 SP from the July month expiry was the most active put with addition of 0.49 million or 11.33%. The maximum Call OI outstanding for Calls was at 5700 SP (5.78 mn) and that for Puts was at 5600 SP (4.84 mn).