--- title: "The Pros Got Paid. But They Covered 8,206 | The Tanmay Edge" description: "Thursday the pros' long got paid. On Sensex expiry the index settled at 77,928, a whisker under the 78,000 lid, and Nifty closed 24,317." source_url: "https://www.rupeecase.com/podcast/episodes/2026-07-31" --- The Tanmay Edge, Season 2, EP93 # The pros got paid. But they covered 8,206 shorts and bought puts Sensex expiry settled 77,928 up 273 a whisker under the 78,000 lid * **10:39**listen * **4.5/5**graded at settlement * **Fri 31 Jul 2026**aired, Season 2 Now playing The pros got paid. But they covered 8,206 shorts and bought puts EP93, 31 Jul, 10:39 1x 0:00Chapter marks are estimated from the notes10:39 The host did not serve the audio here. Listen on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tanmay-edge-indias-pre-market-edge-5-minutes/id1824088016) or [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/0F755kaD5hggGDjy26Sz33). 01Scorecard ## 4.5/5 at settlement. **4.5/5**90% **The call.** Post Sensex Expiry Covering Not Conviction FII Bought Back 8,206 Fut Shorts Net Long 4,40,725 Puts Short 1,76,285 Calls Pro Mild Long Client Short 4,70,209 Puts Cash FII +3,623 Cr DII Sold 1,864 Fresh 04 Aug Chain Put Floor 24,000 24,200 Call Lid 31 L At 24,500 Max Pain 24,250 Band 24,100 To 24,540 Sensex 78,000 Must Convert To Floor Last Day Of The Old Close Single Auction From Mon 3 Aug Edu Price Up OI Down Is Covering * **4**Hit * **1**Partial * **0**Mechanical * **0**Miss Graded against the 3 Aug 2026 session; on the public trail from 10 Aug 2026. The grader's noteGraded Fri 31 Jul EOD. Nifty 24,383.60 up 0.27 percent, the gap up into the 24,400 wall played exactly as mapped, the lid held to 16 points with autos and the Bajaj twins leading while IT dragged. The 24,500 to 24,600 ceiling capped the July high 24,530.90 on every try. Four and a half out of five. [The whole season, graded](/podcast/#trail)[July 2026 archive](/podcast/2026-07/)[Methodology](/track-record) 02In this episode ## 6 chapters, the numbers pulled out. 1. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled 2. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled 3. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled 4. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled 5. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled 6. **06**The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain andOn the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled Cold open: same green candle, two engines **77,928**Sensex expiry settled **78,000**Settled whisker Thursday the pros' long got paid. Sensex expiry settled 77,928, a whisker under the 78,000 lid, and the desks that flipped long into the Fed collected. But the green screen hides something. A big slice of that climb was not fresh buyers, it was bears running Read the chapter The tape: narrow, not broad **77,928**Sensex closed **77,700**Closed up holding above **24,200**Nifty up reclaiming **12.16**Ticked up touch Sensex closed 77,928, up 273, holding above 77,700 all session and drifting into the 78,000 lid, exactly the pin path mapped. Nifty 24,317, up 67, reclaiming the 24,200 to 24,250 zone. The vol gauge ticked up a touch to 12.16. But on the Nifty 50 it was twenty Read the chapter Positioning: foot off the short, reaching for a helmet **1,94,818**Funds walked in short **1,86,612**Walked out **4,40,725**Went net long **1,76,285**Puts and net short The official participant file makes it fact. Foreign funds walked in short 1,94,818 index futures and walked out at 1,86,612, buying back 8206 contracts. That is the covering, in the numbers. But with the other hand they went net long 4,40,725 puts and net Read the chapter Cash and overnight: a friendly Hand-Off **3623 crore**Story, foreign funds bought **1864 crore**Domestic institutions sold **4.65**Year eased **95.70**Rupee steady In cash the split told the same story, foreign funds bought 3623 crore but the domestic institutions sold 1864 crore into strength, one leg of the support booking profits. Overnight came in friendly. Wall Street closed firmly higher with tech out front, the Read the chapter The edu: short covering vs real buying How do you tell in real time whether a green day is real buyers or trapped bears? Watch open interest next to price. Price up and open interest up means new money coming in long, conviction that follows through. Price up and open interest down means old shorts closing out, and once they are done the fuel is gone. Thursday was the second kind, the foreigners covered 8206 shorts while quietly buying puts. So Friday's Read the chapter The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain and Monday's new close **24,000**Built the floor **31 lakh**Call writers piled **24,500**Lakh calls **24,600**Nearly as many On the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled about 31 lakh calls at 24,500 and nearly as many at 24,600, the lid. Max pain 24,250, the weekly pricing only about 220 points, a band of roughly 24,100 Read the chapter 03The notes ## Chapter by chapter. ### *01*Cold open: same green candle, two engines Thursday the pros' long got paid. Sensex expiry settled 77,928, a whisker under the 78,000 lid, and the desks that flipped long into the Fed collected. But the green screen hides something. A big slice of that climb was not fresh buyers, it was bears running for cover. The foreign funds bought back 8206 short futures while quietly loading up on puts. Same green candle, two very different engines. And today is the last time this market settles the old way, because on Monday the close itself changes. ### *02*The tape: narrow, not broad Sensex closed 77,928, up 273, holding above 77,700 all session and drifting into the 78,000 lid, exactly the pin path mapped. Nifty 24,317, up 67, reclaiming the 24,200 to 24,250 zone. The vol gauge ticked up a touch to 12.16. But on the Nifty 50 it was twenty five up, twenty five down, a dead heat, and the broader market was red, smallcaps off about 0.7 percent. Autos carried it, up 1.63 percent with M&M up 1.73 after a 34 percent profit jump to 5455 crore. The words the desks used were short covering and bargain hunting, not conviction, and a rally powered by shorts covering has a very different shelf life. ### *03*Positioning: foot off the short, reaching for a helmet The official participant file makes it fact. Foreign funds walked in short 1,94,818 index futures and walked out at 1,86,612, buying back 8206 contracts. That is the covering, in the numbers. But with the other hand they went net long 4,40,725 puts and net short 1,76,285 calls. They covered the short, bought downside protection, and sold away the upside. Not a house turning bullish, a house taking its foot off the short and reaching for a helmet. The pros leaned the other way gently, net long 3566 futures, long 1,32,067 calls, short puts, a mild long tilt. And the retail client sold the puts, net short 4,70,209. When smart money is paying up for protection and the crowd is selling it to them, pay attention to who is on which side. ### *04*Cash and overnight: a friendly Hand-Off In cash the split told the same story, foreign funds bought 3623 crore but the domestic institutions sold 1864 crore into strength, one leg of the support booking profits. Overnight came in friendly. Wall Street closed firmly higher with tech out front, the ten year eased to about 4.65, Asia broadly green, and GIFT points to a gap up near 24,420. Crude eased back to about 85 from the 91 Red Sea spike, gold near 4090, the rupee steady near 95.70. The macro that was a headwind Thursday flipped friendly overnight. ### *05*The edu: short covering vs real buying How do you tell in real time whether a green day is real buyers or trapped bears? Watch open interest next to price. Price up and open interest up means new money coming in long, conviction that follows through. Price up and open interest down means old shorts closing out, and once they are done the fuel is gone. Thursday was the second kind, the foreigners covered 8206 shorts while quietly buying puts. So Friday's job is simple. Follow through on rising open interest and fresh longs means the buyers are real. Price grinding up while open interest bleeds means it was the last of the covering, and you fade the strength. ### *06*The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain and Monday's new close On the fresh 04 August options the put writers built the floor at 24,000 and 24,200. The call writers piled about 31 lakh calls at 24,500 and nearly as many at 24,600, the lid. Max pain 24,250, the weekly pricing only about 220 points, a band of roughly 24,100 to 24,540. Above 24,400 pushing 24,500 on rising open interest, ride it. Losing 24,200 opens the 24,000 wall. On the Sensex, 78,000 must convert to a floor, 77,500 is the shelf. And the bookend, today is the last trading day settled the old way. From Monday the 3rd of August SEBI switches every F&O stock to a single closing auction price with a random cutoff. The first few sessions under a new rule are always the noisiest. The All Cap book rebalances that Monday too. 04Key takeaways ## 16 things to carry into the session. * *01*Sensex expiry settled 77,928 up 273 a whisker under the 78,000 lid * *02*Nifty 24,317 up 67 reclaimed the 24,200 to 24,250 zone VIX 12.16 * *03*FII bought back 8206 short futures from 1,94,818 to 1,86,612 covering not conviction * *04*FII net long 4,40,725 puts and short 1,76,285 calls protection over direction * *05*Pros mildly long 3566 futures 1,32,067 calls short puts * *06*Clients net short 4,70,209 puts underwriting the downside the smart money is buying * *07*Nifty 50 breadth a dead heat 25 up 25 down smallcaps off 0.7 percent * *08*Autos led up 1.63 percent M&M profit jumped 34 percent to 5455 crore * *09*Cash split FII bought 3623 crore DII sold 1864 crore into strength * *10*Crude eased to about 85 from the 91 Red Sea spike a tailwind again * *11*GIFT pointing to a gap up near 24,420 straight into the decision zone * *12*Fresh 04 Aug chain put floor 24,000 and 24,200 call lid 31 lakh at 24,500 * *13*Max pain 24,250 weekly band roughly 24,100 to 24,540 about 220 points priced * *14*Sensex 78,000 must convert to a floor 77,500 the shelf below * *15*Last day of the 30 minute average close single auction starts Monday 3 Aug * *16*Edu price up OI up is conviction price up OI down is covering Show all 16 05In his words Same green candle, two very different engines. A rally powered by shorts running for cover has a very different shelf life from one powered by new money. That is not a house turning bullish. That is a house taking its foot off the short and reaching for a helmet. Questions ## EP93, in plain words. What does EP93 of The Tanmay Edge cover?EP93, Friday 31 Jul 2026, 10:39, in 6 chapters: Cold open: same green candle, two engines; The tape: narrow, not broad; Positioning: foot off the short, reaching for a helmet; Cash and overnight: a friendly Hand-Off; The edu: short covering vs real buying; The plan: the fresh 04-Aug chain and Monday's new close. How did the calls in EP93 score?Grade 4.5/5 (90 percent): 4 hit, 1 partial, 0 mechanical, 0 miss. Graded against the 3 Aug 2026 session. Is The Tanmay Edge investment advice?No. It is market commentary for education only, not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. RupeeCase is not a SEBI registered investment adviser, and strategy figures on RupeeCase are model, back tested. 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