Broad based sell-off drags Nifty back to 24,000 once again

State election results & global cues likely to decide further direction

Apr 30, 2026

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, Part 2 of the Understanding Market Volatility series — we move from theory to application. Now that we know what volatility is and how it behaves, the real question is: how do you actually use it? Whether you’re an investor looking for smarter entry points or a trader trying to profit from market swings, volatility is your edge, if you know how to read it.

We go beyond the fear and into the framework: how drawdowns signal opportunity, how trend following captures downside moves, and why high implied volatility environments can actually be a trader’s best friend.

Check out In The Money

Markets Today

Nifty opened with a 180-point gap down at 23,997, reacting to a sharp spike in oil prices and a hawkish Fed stance. The index extended losses in early trade, slipping toward the 23,800–23,850 zone within the first hour.

After the initial decline, Nifty moved into a narrow sideways range between 23,800 and 23,850 through late morning.

Post noon, buying interest picked up steadily, leading to a strong recovery. The index reclaimed 23,900 and climbed past 24,050 by around 2 PM.

In the final hour, Nifty saw a brief pullback toward the 23,960–23,970 zone before settling at 23,997.55. The session was marked by early weakness followed by a steady recovery, helping the index trim losses and close on a relatively stable note ahead of the long weekend and key triggers like state election results, Q4 earnings, and global cues.

Nifty fell 0.74% to 23,997.55, while Bank Nifty declined 0.98% to 54,863.35. Market breadth remained weak at 140 advances versus 359 declines, and VIX rose 5.9% to 18.46, reflecting elevated nervousness.

Sectoral Indices Performance

Only IT and Pharma stayed green with 0.37% and 0.03%. Metal collapsed 2.12%, PSU Banks slid 1.68%, Realty dropped 1.5%. Energy and Media both closed red. 10 of 12 sectors bled.

Winners & Losers

Midcap fell in line with Nifty at 0.77% to 13,826. No divergence, no escape. Sellers were everywhere.

Momentum Screener

Global Markets

Commodities

Gold and silver rallying hard while equities bleed says money is moving to safety.

Bond Yields & Currency

India 10Y yield sits at 7.04%, US 10Y at 4.42%. Rupee weakened 0.11% to 95.11, adding to the pressure on foreign flows.

FII / DII Flows

Here’s the trend of FII-DII activity from the last 5 days:

Thematic Indices

Tijori’s niche indices, where pockets of the market beyond standard sector baskets are sorted by today’s move. You can also track the 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 5th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,500, followed by 24,300, indicating potential resistance at the 24,400 -24,500 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 23,500 & 23,800, suggesting support at 23,800-23,700.

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

Management Chatter

In this section, we highlight interesting comments from the management of major companies and policymakers in the Indian and Global Economies.

Richard Harris, CEO, Port Shelter Investment Management, on rate cuts and the AI sector:

“Rate cuts are unlikely in the near term as inflation remains sticky.”
“The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its stance until inflation shows a sustained decline.”
“Market valuations in the AI sector may be running ahead of actual earnings growth.” - Link

Sudipta Roy, MD & CEO of L&T Finance, on the microfinance industry, the company’s vision, and cost savings due to AI:

“April is going well. The microfinance industry has reasonably mended, two-wheeler momentum is holding strong, tractor sales are quite okay. As of now I do not see any palpable signs."
"The franchise, which is currently about Rs 1.21 lakh crore, we expect it to get close to Rs 3 lakh crore at the end of the Lakshya 31 franchise."
"We're looking at about a Rs 30 to 40 crore cost save just in collections this year due to collection AI bot calls," - Link