24,200 continues to remain a fortress to breach for markets
Nifty closes flat once again after failing to breakthrough
Welcome to Aftermarket Report, a newsletter where we do a quick daily wrap-up of what happened in the markets, both in India and globally.
In our latest episode of In The Money by Zerodha, we trace where the idea of using moon cycles to time the markets actually came from — and test whether it holds up at all.
Two dates appear on every lunar trading calendar. Most traders never question them. We did — and it led us from a Babylonian clay tablet to a forgotten astrologer on JP Morgan's payroll.
The moon cycle trade — ancient Hindu astronomy, WD Gann's coded manuscripts, and a strategy that wins 59% of the time but still can't beat a simple buy and hold. One hypothesis. Over a thousand years of celestial observation. And a reason why a pattern in the data is not the same as an edge in your account.
Markets Today
Nifty opened with a 34-point gap-up at 24,086, following positive global cues on a softer-than-expected US inflation print, even as tensions in the Middle East continued to keep investors cautious. The index extended its early gains, climbing steadily to the 24,200–24,220 zone within the first hour, with buying interest remaining broad-based through the morning.
However, sentiment turned sharply after noon. Nifty slipped from around 24,170 to nearly 24,050 in a swift sell-off around 12:45 PM, erasing all of its morning gains. The index then remained volatile through the second half, oscillating in the 24,050–24,100 range as buyers and sellers battled for control. Despite a few recovery attempts, Nifty failed to regain the lost ground and closed at 24,078.50, giving up most of its intraday gains after a sharp midday reversal.
Sectoral Indices Performance
Winners & Losers
Commodities
FII / DII Flows
Here’s the trend of FII-DII activity from the last 5 days:
Thematic Indices
Tijori’s niche indices, where today’s move sorts pockets of the market beyond standard sector baskets. You can also track promoter buying and other interesting stuff, like Capex activity by the companies in the Tijori App’s idea dashboard
Change in OI for the day
The following is the change in OI for Nifty contracts expiring on 14th July:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,200, followed by 24,500, indicating potential resistance at the 24,200 -24,300 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 24,100, suggesting support at 23,900-23,800.
Note: OI is subject to multiple interpretations; however, generally, an increase in Call OI indicates resistance in a falling market, while an increase in Put OI indicates support in a rising market.
Source: Sensibull
Top Stories in India
India's seasonal rainfall deficit has narrowed to 23% since June 1 from 37% at the end of June, helped by a wetter first half of July when rainfall was only 4% below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Cumulative rainfall has reached 227 mm against the long-period average of 294.2 mm, with 21 meteorological subdivisions, covering 56% of the country, still classified as rainfall deficient. Dive deeper
The Union Cabinet has approved the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) with an outlay of ₹1.27 trillion and the second phase of the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme with an allocation of ₹62,500 crore. The government also said that three of the 12 semiconductor manufacturing and packaging plants approved under the ISM have already commenced commercial production. Dive deeper
HDFC Life reported a 12% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 standalone net profit to ₹611.4 crore. Value of new business (VNB) increased 9% to ₹879 crore, while the VNB margin remained largely stable at 25%. The insurer’s industry market share stood at 11.2%, with proprietary channels growing 17%, partly offset by moderate growth in the bancassurance channel. Dive deeper
Jana Small Finance Bank reported a 52.3% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹155 crore, driven by a 33% increase in net interest income to ₹782 crore, lower provisions and improved asset quality. Dive deeper
Raymond Realty has signed a joint development agreement for a premium residential project in Mumbai's Parel, marking its entry into the South Mumbai market. The project has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of around ₹8,500 crore, making it the company's largest development outside its flagship Thane land parcel and its eighth joint development project in Mumbai. Dive deeper
IKEA plans to more than double its investment in India to over ₹21,000 crore by 2030 as it expands its store network, strengthens local sourcing and enhances its omni-channel presence. Dive deeper
Ather Energy will receive a ₹200 crore investment from the Government of India through the India-Japan Fund as part of its proposed ₹1,200 crore fundraise. The government-backed investment, managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, will be made alongside contributions from Ather's founders and existing shareholder Hero MotoCorp. Dive deeper
Top Stories Globally
Crude oil climbed above $79 per barrel, extending gains for a third straight session to a one-month high, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions heightened concerns over Middle East oil supplies. Prices rose after fresh U.S. strikes on Iranian military assets and the reinstatement of a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of further disruptions to global shipping and energy flows. Dive deeper
China's economy grew 4.3% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, slowing from 5.0% in the previous quarter and missing market expectations of 4.5%. The weakest growth since Q4 2022 reflected soft domestic demand, weak private investment and a prolonged property downturn, despite resilient AI-related exports, increasing expectations of further policy support. Dive deeper
Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have jointly offered to acquire PayPal for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion. The offer, backed by about $50 billion in committed bank financing, represents a roughly 28% premium to PayPal's closing share price on Tuesday. Dive deeper
BlackRock reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit as a stock market rally boosted the value of client assets and strong inflows into its exchange-traded funds lifted earnings. Assets under management climbed to a record $15.34 trillion, up from $12.53 trillion a year earlier and $13.89 trillion in the previous quarter. Dive deeper
ASML raised its 2026 sales forecast for the second time this year after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. The company now expects full-year net revenue of €43–45 billion, up from its earlier guidance of €36–40 billion, and pledged to expand production capacity to support strong AI-driven chip demand, boosting its shares nearly 4%. Dive deeper
Management Chatter
In this section, we highlight interesting comments from management at major companies and from policymakers in the Indian and Global Economies.
Venu Lambo, CEO and MD of LTM on strong demand for FDE engineers globally:
“We have moved from AI creation to AI deployment. As conversations get real, there is a strong demand for FDE engineers globally. Currently, there are only a few thousand available. The market needs a large population of them to accelerate adoption.” - Link
Manoj Raghavan, MD & CEO of Tata Elxsi, explained why AI will not materially disrupt ER&D services:
“While AI can help write C++ code 20–30% faster, software coding is not the biggest part of the work. Product planning, architecture, requirements mapping and regulatory alignment are much larger portions of the lifecycle. Customers are less focused on cost savings than they are on quality and productivity.” - Link
Nidhu Saxena, MD and CEO of Maharashtra Bank, says the bank is prioritizing high-quality, profitable growth over simply increasing loan volumes at any cost:
“Profitability, rather than mindlessly increasing the top line, has always been a conscious element in our growth journey. We focus on growth that is profitable without compromising asset quality, looking at the medium to long term. To ensure good interest income and overall profitability, we have implemented several initiatives that are pioneering in the industry for our review mechanisms with field leadership.” - Link
Corporate Actions & Events
Corporate Actions
Published by Zerodha. Not investment advice. Data from NSE, BSE, and MCX.
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