Another flat finish for Nifty as 24,000–24,200 range holds firm
Results by index heavyweights to be the likely next trigger
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 64-point gap up at 24,142, following positive global cues. The index touched an intraday high near 24,170 in the first hour, then saw gradual profit-booking towards 24,100. It traded in a narrow range through the late morning with one more spike towards 24,180 around 11 AM.
Weakness deepened in the second half, with the index slipping sharply to an intraday low near 24,050 around 1:40 PM. A swift rebound followed, helping Nifty recover above 24,100, but the gains proved short-lived as another bout of selling emerged in the final hour. Nifty eventually closed the day flat at 24,072.75, well off its intraday highs, after a volatile session marked by sharp swings in the second half.
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 21st 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
Wipro reported a 0.6% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 consolidated net profit to ₹3,352 crore, while revenue increased 10.6% to ₹24,479 crore. IT services revenue stood at $2.61 billion, down 1.4% quarter-on-quarter but up 1% year-on-year, and the company's board declared an interim dividend of ₹2 per equity share. Dive deeper
Tech Mahindra reported a 31.7% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 consolidated net profit to ₹1,486.3 crore, driven by higher revenue and operating earnings. Revenue from operations increased 17.7% to ₹15,711.9 crore, while net profit rose 9.6% sequentially and revenue grew 4.2% over the March quarter. Dive deeper
HCL Technologies will acquire Guardian India Operations for $10.5 million (around ₹101 crore), taking over the technology and operations global capability centre of Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. The deal includes the transfer of nearly 2,000 employees to HCLTech and forms part of a seven-year strategic partnership with Guardian Life Insurance. Dive deeper
BHEL reported a consolidated net profit of ₹378 crore in Q1FY27, compared with a loss of ₹456 crore in the year-ago quarter, driven by stronger operating performance. Revenue rose 40.3% year-on-year to ₹7,698 crore from ₹5,487 crore. Dive deeper
Polycab India reported a 32.5% year-on-year rise in Q1FY27 net profit to ₹784 crore, while revenue from operations increased 39% to ₹8,210 crore, driven by strong growth in its Wires & Cables and Fast Moving Electrical Goods businesses. EBITDA rose 32.5% to ₹1,136 crore, although the EBITDA margin narrowed to 13.8% from 14.5% a year earlier. Dive deeper
Top Stories Globally
Crude oil held above $80 per barrel, hovering near one-month highs as escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities intensified concerns over Middle East energy supplies. Prices were supported by reports of fresh U.S. strikes near Iran’s main oil export terminal, retaliatory Iranian attacks on U.S. bases, and the suspension of crude loading at Iraq’s Basra export terminal after a drone strike on an oil tanker. Dive deeper
The Eurozone recorded a €7.8 billion trade deficit in May 2026, reversing a €15 billion surplus a year earlier and marking its largest monthly trade shortfall since April 2023. The deterioration was driven by a 10% surge in imports, particularly energy, while exports were broadly flat, alongside smaller trade surpluses in machinery, vehicles and chemical products. Dive deeper
The European Commission has directed Google to provide fair access to key services for AI rivals such as OpenAI and competing search engines under the EU’s Digital Markets Act. The move outlines Google’s compliance obligations six months after the regulator launched proceedings to curb the market power of Big Tech. Dive deeper
Nvidia has partnered with Japanese companies including Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric to accelerate the development of AI and robotics. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the collaboration aims to make robots smarter, more adaptable, and easier to deploy using AI. Dive deeper
Shares of Atai Beckley surged as much as 50% in premarket trading after reports that Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire the company at a premium. Before the report, Atai Beckley had a market capitalisation of about $1.97 billion, with its shares already up 31% in 2026. 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.
Warren Buffett said that it was him, not his successor and new Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel, who led the conglomerate’s investment in Google:
“I initiated it; I am not doing anything that he does not approve of. He is not doing anything I don’t approve of. We talk all the time, but he is the decider.”
“I would say that I don’t like it as well as at least four or five other businesses that we own. The real question with Google and all of its competitors now, because they are all laying out hundreds of billions, and that is real money. That is the game they are playing now. They weren’t playing that game with computer software.” - Link
Warren Buffett criticised the current stock market environment:
“It is tough to find value when everybody is preferring gambling.”
“If you are buying one-day options or selling them, that is not investing, it is not speculating, it is gambling. We have never had people in a more gambling mood than now. It doesn’t mean investing is terrible. It does mean prices for an awful lot of things look very silly,” - Link
Corporate Actions & Events
Corporate Actions
Published by Zerodha. Not investment advice. Data from NSE, BSE, and MCX.
That’s it from us for today. We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments, and feel free to share this with your friends to spread the word!
What stood out to me is how easily one strong closing number can make the market look healthier than it actually is.
Nifty closing above 24,300 despite weak global cues shows resilience, but broader market weakness, a falling rupee, expensive crude and mixed earnings suggest that confidence is still selective rather than widespread.
Markets often hold up because a few large companies are doing the heavy lifting. For investors, the index level matters but understanding what is supporting that level matters even more.
Great share