Consolidation continues in Nifty near 25,900-950 as 26,000 remains the ceiling for now
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 video series, we begin a brand-new series on what many professionals consider the single most important pillar of trading: Position Sizing. You can survive with an imperfect strategy. You cannot survive with a broken position sizing framework.
Most traders obsess over entries, indicators, and setups. Very few spend enough time on how much capital to deploy, how much risk to take, and how to stay alive during drawdowns. In reality, performance does not end at backtests. That is where the real work begins.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a 62-point gap-up at 25,997 but failed to sustain the early strength, slipping sharply in the opening hour amid high volatility. The index swung both ways in the first hour, dipping toward the 25,920–25,930 zone before staging a quick rebound back above 25,960, reflecting a choppy start with low intraday conviction.
Through the late morning and into the first half, Nifty remained range-bound with a mild negative bias, gradually drifting lower and testing the 25,900–25,910 zone around 12:30 PM. In the second half, the index recovered slightly but largely remained in a range between 25,930 and 25,960, with follow-through remaining limited. Nifty eventually closed near 25,953.85, marking a sideways session with no clear trend.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global risk appetite, ongoing Q3 earnings, and domestic cues.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had a mixed session, slightly tilted towards bearish bias today. Of the 3,248 stocks that traded on the NSE, 1,485 advanced, 1,683 declined, and 80 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty Auto was the top gainer today, rising 1.30%, while Nifty IT was the top loser, down 1.76%. Overall, 9 sectors closed in the green, and 3 sectors ended in the red.
Here’s the trend of FII-DII activity from the last 5 days:
Change in OI for the day
The following is the change in OI for Nifty contracts expiring on 17th February:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 26,000, followed by 26,100, indicating potential resistance at the 26,000 -26,100 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,900, followed by 26,000 & 25,800, suggesting support at 25,800-25,700.
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
Tijori is an investment research platform that has constructed niche indices for various themes and sub-sectors. They help you understand the market performance of narrow slices of the market. You can also track the Promoter buying and other interesting stuff, like Capex activity by the companies in the Tijori App’s idea dashboard
What’s happening in India
India’s 10-year G-Sec yield eased to around 6.73% as traders stayed rangebound ahead of January inflation data, with expectations of moderate price growth helping cap yields. Dive deeper
The Indian rupee strengthened to around 90.5 per dollar, supported by a softer US dollar, lower Treasury yields and surplus domestic liquidity following RBI cash infusions. Dive deeper
Goldi Solar is considering an IPO to raise up to $350 million, with a draft prospectus likely as early as April, amid strong investor interest in India’s renewable energy sector. Dive deeper
Ashok Leyland’s Q3 consolidated profit rose 4% year-on-year to ₹796 crore, while revenue jumped 22%, driven by higher volumes and improved realisations. Dive deeper
Mahindra & Mahindra’s Q3 PAT rose 38.5% to ₹5,021 crore year-on-year, supported by stronger tractor and auto segment performance. Dive deeper
BHEL shares fell 6% after the government launched an Offer for Sale to divest up to 5% stake, with an initial 3% and a greenshoe option of 2%. The OFS floor price has been set at ₹254 per share. Dive deeper
Lenskart’s Q3 consolidated profit surged 6983% year-on-year to ₹131 crore on a 38% rise in revenue, driven by strong demand and operational improvements. Dive deeper
ONGC is in advanced discussions with foreign partners to jointly bid in the tenth round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, aiming to share risks in capital-intensive deepwater exploration. Dive deeper
Carlyle Group announced a ₹2,100 crore investment to acquire a majority stake in Nido Home Finance from Edelweiss Financial Services, combining a 45% secondary purchase with ₹1,500 crore primary infusion. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude rose above $69 per barrel as persistent US–Iran tensions and risks to Iranian oil supplies supported prices. Dive deeper
Gold rose above $5,060 per ounce, near a two-week high, as softer US data strengthened expectations of multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Dive deeper
US payrolls are expected to rise by about 70,000 in January, with unemployment steady at 4.4%, pointing to a gradually cooling labour market. Dive deeper
The dollar index eased to around 96.5 as investors awaited the January jobs report, with expectations of modest hiring reinforcing signs of a cooling labour market. Dive deeper
US crude oil inventories rose by 13.4 million barrels in the week ended February 6, reversing the previous week’s draw and marking the sharpest build since January 2023. Dive deeper
The Japanese yen held solid gains against the dollar as fiscal concerns eased after Prime Minister Takaichi’s election win and Japan’s stock rally, while the US dollar weakened ahead of the key US non-farm payrolls release. Dive deeper
China’s vehicle sales fell 3.2% year-on-year in January to an eleven-month low, with sharp declines in domestic demand offsetting marginal growth in new energy vehicle sales. Dive deeper
Management chatter
In this section, we highlight interesting comments made by the management of major companies and policymakers from the Indian and Global Economies.
Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta, pushes for exploration reforms in India’s oil and gas sector
"India is vulnerable because we import 90% of our oil and gas. We are surrounded by sea on three sides, which can be blockaded in hostile times. There is no option but to raise our domestic production."
“This sector is among a few that has no government protection or incentive like PLI.”
"The world doesn't want India to produce. It only wants India to be a market. But only domestic production creates jobs, which is proven in other parts of the world. We must push back."
"Today, there are hardly 200 active licences in India when there should be 2,000. The industry and potential investors fear processes, notices, court cases and taking away the licenses." - Link
Chetan Ahya, Chief India Economist, Morgan Stanley, on AI, Infra, and Inflation:
“So, you are seeing everybody having to invest for AI-related infrastructure. We are seeing everybody in the region, for example, spending more on defence… that will also fuel the industrial cycle.”
“If you are investing more in solar, the old grid system will not work, so you have to invest in the grid system. So, yes, a combination of a number of factors we think is bringing this revival of industrial cycle.”
“Inflation is still not going to be a concern anytime soon… next few quarters we should have a benign environment where growth is strong and inflation is still just heading towards normal levels.” - Link
🧑🏻💻Have you checked out The Chatter?
Every week, we listen to the big Indian earnings calls—Reliance, HDFC Bank, and even smaller logistics firms—and copy the full transcripts. We then remove the fluff and keep only the sentences that could move a share price: a surprise price hike, a cut-back on factory spending, a warning about weak monsoon sales, or a hint from management on RBI liquidity. We add a quick, one-line explainer and a timestamp so you can trace the quote back to the call. The whole thing lands in your inbox as one sharp page of facts you can read in three minutes—no 40-page decks, no jargon, just the hard stuff that matters for your trades and your macro view.
Go check out The Chatter here.
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Calendars
In the coming days, we have the following significant events, quarterly results, and corporate actions:
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!