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 explore scalping, one of the most tempting yet misunderstood approaches in intraday trading. The idea sounds simple: take many quick trades, capture small price movements, and repeat the process multiple times during the day.

But beyond that initial appeal, scalping is far more demanding than it appears, and very few traders are able to sustain it over the long run. Instead of presenting scalping as a shortcut to quick profits, this episode examines the idea through a data-informed and rules-based lens, focusing on what actually makes such strategies viable.

Check out In The Money

Market Overview

Nifty opened with a gap-up of 52 points at 23,633, carrying forward the positive momentum from the past two sessions. After some initial volatility, Buying picked up steadily through the morning session, pushing Nifty toward the 23,750 zone and later crossing the 23,800 range by 11:30 AM, mainly led by a sharp recovery in the IT sector.

By noon, Nifty continued to trade in a narrow range between 23,760 and 23,800 with a slight upward bias, reflecting sustained buying interest.

In the second half, momentum improved further with Nifty climbing toward the 23,830–23,850 zone, marking the day’s highs around 2 PM. However, the index failed to sustain at elevated levels and witnessed some profit-taking towards 23,740-750 in the final hour and eventually settled at 23,777.80, ending the session with strong gains for the third consecutive day after a steady first-half rise and mild profit booking into the close.

Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global geopolitical developments, risk appetite, AI-related news flow, and key domestic cues.

Broader Market Performance:

The broader market had a bullish session today. Of the 3,328 stocks that traded on the NSE, 2,537 advanced, 706 declined, and 85 remained unchanged.

Sectoral Performance:

Sectoral momentum was broadly positive today, with Nifty Media leading the gains, up 3.35%, while Nifty Metal was the top loser, slipping 0.10%. Overall, 10 sectors closed in green, and 2 sectors ended in 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 24th March:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 23,800, indicating potential resistance at the 23,900 -24,000 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 23,700, suggesting support at 23,600-23,500.

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

The rupee slipped to a record low close of 92.64 per dollar, pressured by FII outflows and a stronger US dollar amid ongoing West Asia tensions. Dive deeper

India’s 10-year G-Sec yield eased toward 6.7% as stabilising oil prices and falling US Treasury yields provided some relief ahead of the Fed’s policy decision. Dive deeper

PVR Inox shares have surged 6% in three days, gaining on strong expectations of high footfalls from the release of the Dhurandhar sequel. Dive deeper

Shares of IndiGo and SpiceJet were in focus after the DGCA directed airlines to offer at least 60% of seats without any selection charge. The move could impact ancillary revenue streams for airlines, particularly from paid seat selection. Dive deeper

SEBI has fined 18 entities ₹2.8 crore and barred them from markets for up to five years for manipulating shares of Retro Green Revolution Ltd. Dive deeper

TCS has signed a multi-year partnership with Pearson to co-develop AI-powered learning and assessment solutions for enterprises. Dive deeper

Tata Steel has approved the merger of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) with itself to streamline operations and improve efficiency. Dive deeper

SBI has raised ₹6,051 crore via Basel III-compliant Tier 2 bonds at a 7.05% coupon, with a 10-year maturity and call option after five years. Dive deeper

IRDAI is pushing ahead with plans to build a Public Insurance Registry as part of a broader digital transformation of the insurance sector. Dive deeper

India’s privatisation drive is facing setbacks due to weak investor interest, with plans to sell stakes in firms like Shipping Corporation, HLL Lifecare, and IDBI Bank stalling. Dive deeper

India plans to mandate the use of locally produced solar ingots and wafers from June 2028 for clean energy projects to reduce reliance on imports. Dive deeper

What’s happening globally

Brent crude fell to around $103 per barrel after Iraq agreed to resume exports via Turkey’s Ceyhan port, easing supply concerns. Dive deeper

Gold fell to around $4,920 per ounce, near a one-month low, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy decision amid uncertainty over oil-driven inflation. Dive deeper

European stocks rose, with the STOXX 50 up 0.9% and STOXX 600 gaining 0.4%, supported by easing oil prices and optimism around AI. Dive deeper

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates unchanged at 3.5%–3.75%, maintaining a cautious stance amid rising oil prices, persistent inflation, and signs of a slowing labour market. Dive deeper

Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 2.9% and Topix rose 2.5%, led by gains in technology and AI-related stocks as investors rotated into sectors less exposed to Middle East risks. Dive deeper

Alibaba is shifting its AI strategy toward agent-based systems, integrating AI across its business ecosystem and separating its AI unit from the cloud division. Dive deeper

Chinese authorities have approved sales of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to multiple domestic companies, following a US license allowing limited exports. Dive deeper

Management chatter

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

Andy Jassy, Chief Executive Officer, Amazon, on AI’s impact:

“AI could help AWS reach $600 billion in annual sales.”
“The demand for AI is unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
“We continue to believe AI is a once-in-a-lifetime reinvention of everything we know.” - 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.

So, we’re now on Reddit!

We love engaging with the perspectives of readers like you. So we asked ourselves - why not make a proper free-for-all forum where people can engage with us and each other? And what’s a better, nerdier place to do that than Reddit?

So, do join us on the subreddit, chat all things markets and finance, tell us what you like about our content, and where we can improve! Here’s the link — alternatively, you can search r/marketsbyzerodha on Reddit.

See you there!

Calendars

In the coming days, we have the following significant events 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!

Aftermarket Report by Zerodha

IT stocks rebound as Nifty extends winning…