New Delhi, March 27 -- Traders in India's equity market are bracing for volatility on return from the Ram Navami holiday, with option sellers looking at a significant 5% trading range for the Nifty 50 through the month-end. The positioning comes as the Friday deadline for a shaky five-day truce in West Asia looms, leaving investors caught between hopes of de-escalation and the reality of a US military deployment.

"While the sellers are relatively more bullish after the two-day rally, they aren't taking any chances lest last-minute nasty surprises crop up on Friday," said Sudhir Joshi, consultant at Khambatta Securities.

The bullishness of sellers or writers is reflected in the relative number of puts to calls sold as of Wednesday. For e...