Retail, HNI F&O bets hit by West Asia flare-up

Retail and HNI investors in the F&O segment have been burned by their bets as the Nifty fell nearly 2 percent from 24,334.3 to 23,869.6 this week amid a West Asia flare-up and rising geopolitical tensions. The 24,000 call option dropped about 80 percent to ₹75 per share from ₹343 on Monday after retail turned net bullish expecting support to hold. Brent crude surged 31 percent to $100.69 a barrel, with 10 percent of daily global oil supply disrupted by the Strait of Hormuz closure, raising balance-of-payments concerns for India, the world's third-largest crude importer.