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 test a popular options strategy on NIFTY: selling a straddle or strangle 45 days before expiry.
Using over seven years of data, we compare 45 DTE straddles with 30 and 16 delta strangles, and then see what happens when we add a VIX filter. The results show why collecting more premium can matter, and how higher volatility can change the performance of the strategy.
But the backtest also highlights the risks, especially gap risk, drawdowns, and the danger of using too much leverage. So, how does the 45 DTE strategy actually hold up in India? Let's look at the data.
Markets Today
Nifty opened with a 52-point gap up at 24,284, extending the recovery from the previous session despite weaker global cues, while a softer Dollar Index provided some relief. The index, however, turned volatile immediately after the open, briefly falling towards 24,210 within the first 20 minutes.
Buying picked up thereafter, taking Nifty back above 24,250 by around 10:30 AM and eventually to an intraday high near 24,265-24,270 around 11 AM. The recovery began losing momentum towards the end of the first half, with the index gradually slipping back towards the 24,230-24,240 zone by noon.
In the second half, Nifty remained choppy and largely directionless, with repeated swings between 24,225 and 24,250, and spent most of the final hour consolidating around 24,230-24,240, before the closing move lifted it to 24,252, helping the index finish higher for a second consecutive session, despite a flat close.
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 25th August:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,300, followed by 24,500, indicating potential resistance at the 24,300- 24,400 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 24,200, suggesting support at 24,100-24,000.
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 private sector activity improved marginally in August, with the HSBC Flash Composite PMI rising to 54.6 from 54.3 in July, as stronger services activity offset slower manufacturing growth. While activity remained in expansion for the 61st consecutive month, the reading was still the second weakest since March 2022, with new order growth remaining subdued compared with recent years. Dive deeper
Welspun Corp secured its largest-ever single order worth $1.8 billion (around ₹17,200 crore) to supply pipes from its U.S. manufacturing facility. The order, to be executed across FY28 and FY29, takes the company’s global order book to a record $4.4 billion (around ₹42,100 crore). Dive deeper
India’s foreign exchange reserves jumped $9.9 billion to $716.9 billion in the week ended August 14, extending the strong build-up from $707 billion a week earlier. The increase was led by a $7.2 billion rise in foreign currency assets and a $2.7 billion increase in gold holdings, taking reserves close to the record high of $728.5 billion reached in February. Dive deeper
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles will raise prices of its cars and SUVs by up to ₹25,000 from September 1, with the increase varying across models and variants. The automaker said the hike is aimed at partially offsetting rising input costs and persistent commodity inflation amid continued geopolitical uncertainty. Dive deeper
India’s Portfolio Management Services (PMS) industry AUM rose 2% MoM to ₹44.11 lakh crore in July, while the client base expanded 1.3% to around 2.23 lakh accounts, according to APMI. On a year-on-year basis, both AUM and client accounts grew around 11%, reflecting continued expansion of the PMS industry and investor participation. Dive deeper
ICICI Bank approved plans to raise up to $5 billion through overseas debt markets, revising its borrowing limit for international fundraising. The bank plans to raise the funds through bonds, notes and offshore certificates of deposit, according to an exchange filing. Dive deeper
Colgate-Palmolive India announced a leadership transition, with MD & CEO Prabha Narasimhan resigning from her role a year before her tenure ends. Manish Anandani has been appointed MD & CEO for a five-year term and will take charge from September 28, while Narasimhan will move to a new role as Executive Vice President – Marketing, Asia Pacific. Dive deeper
Top Stories Globally
Gold surged 1.5% to around $4,587 per ounce, hitting an over three-month high, and was on track for a third consecutive weekly gain. The rally was driven by a weaker U.S. dollar and the Treasury’s surprise expansion of long-duration bond buybacks, while gold’s move above its 200-day moving average triggered further technical buying. Dive deeper
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield traded around 4.7%, while the 30-year yield rebounded to around 5.25%, nearly reversing the relief seen after the Treasury expanded its long-duration bond buybacks. Investors remain sceptical that the intervention can sustainably lower borrowing costs, despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signalling that buybacks could exceed $4 billion per operation and pointing to an upcoming fiscal consolidation plan. Dive deeper
Brent crude traded near $94 per barrel, heading for a second consecutive weekly gain of around 6%, as the unresolved U.S.-Iran conflict continued to disrupt Middle Eastern energy supplies. Expectations of further U.S. economic pressure on Iran and continued disruption around the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns elevated. Dive deeper
Samsung Electronics expects shareholder returns to reach as much as 110 trillion won ($79.5 billion) in 2026, more than five times its previous record, including 30 trillion won in Q3 cash dividends. The move comes as Samsung faces pressure to share more of its record AI-driven chip profits with investors, following rival SK Hynix’s massive buyback announcement. Dive deeper
Japan’s core consumer inflation accelerated to 1.8% YoY in July from 1.6% in June, as a weaker yen and higher import and energy costs pushed up prices. Although inflation remained below the BOJ’s 2% target for a seventh straight month, underlying inflation also strengthened, bolstering expectations that the Bank of Japan could raise its policy rate from 1% to 1.25% in September. Dive deeper
Germany’s manufacturing activity strengthened sharply in August, with the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI jumping to 54.1 from 52.2 in July, beating market expectations and marking its strongest reading since May 2022. The sector expanded for a seventh consecutive month, driven by faster growth in output, new orders and exports, signalling a strengthening recovery in Europe’s largest economy. 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.
Shirish Chandra Murmu, Deputy Governor, RBI, on the concerning trend where a smaller percentage of new businesses are entering the formal credit system despite overall credit growth:
“In 2022-23, 52 per cent of fresh businesses entered the formal credit system. By 2025-26, that figure had fallen to 42 per cent — even as outstanding commercial credit grew by fourteen per cent over the year. This did not happen for want of information: lenders today have access to richer data, and to materially stronger analytical capability, than at any point before. It points to something more structural — that our data and our technology may be getting better at serving those the system already understands, faster than they are developing the capacity to understand those it has never served.” - Link
B Thiagarajan, MD of Blue Star, dismisses the idea that high heat alone can drive air conditioner sales if rural income is hit by a bad monsoon:
“I have stated this earlier: going by history, India is an agricultural and rural economy. A poor monsoon will result in weak demand across Tier 3, Tier 4, and Tier 5 towns. While temperatures shooting up may create some demand, that will not compensate for the overall slowdown in the economy if the monsoon forecast shortfall of 15% holds true. So, I am not a believer that a delayed monsoon is going to help the cooling industry at all.” - Link
Parthanil Ghosh, MD & CEO of HDFC ERGO General Insurance on latest trends in Health insurance space:
Consumers are increasingly looking for comprehensive health covers without having to worry about what is payable or not payable at hospitals. They are also concerned about medical inflation and whether their sum insured will be adequate. - Link
Corporate Actions & Events
Corporate Actions
Published by Zerodha. Not investment advice. Data from NSE, BSE, and MCX.
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Great read