Dull close near 23,600 for Nifty despite strong broader market rally

IT stocks rebound sharply

May 19, 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, from Friedrich Hayek’s 1945 insight that prices aggregate dispersed knowledge, to Kenneth Arrow’s state-contingent securities, and Eugene Fama’s Efficient Market Hypothesis — the intellectual foundations of prediction markets run surprisingly deep.

We trace how these ideas were brought to life, from a bar conversation in Iowa City that became the Iowa Electronic Markets to the billion-dollar platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, navigating regulatory battles with the CFTC in the US today.

This episode also examines what all of this means for India — a country where prediction markets don’t yet exist, but where Indian events are already being actively traded on platforms thousands of miles away, and where global funds may be using these prices as live intelligence on our own political and economic outcomes.

Check out In The Money

Markets Today

Nifty opened with a small gap up of 25 points at 23,675, tracking mixed global cues. The index remained volatile in the opening hour, oscillating between the 23,680–23,760 zone with intermittent buying and selling pressure.

After the initial swings, Nifty largely traded sideways through the late morning session, hovering around the 23,700–23,750 range till noon, with no clear directional momentum.

In the second half, weakness gradually crept in as the index started making lower highs. Selling pressure intensified sharply after 2:30 PM, dragging Nifty below the 23,650 mark and pushing it steadily toward the 23,590–23,600 zone in the final hour.

A minor recovery attempt emerged near the close, but it failed to reverse the damage. Nifty eventually closed at 23,618, near the day’s lows.

The session was marked by range-bound trade in the first half, followed by late selling pressure, resulting in a weak, largely flat close despite a stable start.

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 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 26th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 23,700, indicating potential resistance at the 23,800 -23,900 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 24,000, suggesting support at 23,500-23,400.

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.

Anuj Jain, Director of Finance, Indian Oil Corp, on availability of Crude and refining margins:

“We don’t have any shortage of either crude oil or LPG. For crude oil, the number of days of inventory is still being maintained for over a month. LPG inventory has come down, but still it is being managed so that we have enough LPG availability on a pan-India basis.”
“As far as the supply of crude oil and other petroleum products is concerned, we have consistently seen that, particularly in crude oil, there are diversified sources available, and all our refineries are operating at full capacity since the conflict started. So we are making crude oil available.”
“The world definitely will be facing some cycles of high refining margins going forward, because whatever has happened, whether in Russia-Ukraine, or in US-Iran, it has disrupted the refining and upstream assets, also. So, in all, refining margins are expected to remain high in the next one or two years because of these uncertainties.” - Link

Keki Mistry, Chairman of HDFC Bank, on Adani Group’s Borrowing Profile after US case closure:

“SEC was playing on certain minds, but now that it is put to rest, borrowing costs will improve, and more banks will lend to the group.”
The group's planned investment of nearly Rs 6 lakh crore across aviation, digital infrastructure, and renewable energy sectors. He said renewable energy, in particular, could emerge as a “saviour” in the current environment if scaled up rapidly. - Link