New Delhi, Jan. 27 -- In an indication that markets might be nearing a bottom ahead of Saturday's Union budget, options sellers have been ramping up positions at the 22,800 strike Nifty put option, which expires on Thursday, 30 January.

This implies that Nifty faces a strong likelihood of getting support at 292 points or 1.3% below Friday's closing of 23,092.20 ahead of the budget.

Market hopes are pinned on potential tax relief for salary earners in the budget to give a boost to consumption, which has slowed down, and an increase in government spending to lift corporate profitability.

To be sure, when option traders expect markets to stay above a certain level, they tend to build up positions-referred to as open interest (OI)-or sell ...