Market logs its worst week in nearly 4 years !
Nifty closes sharply lower near 23,150; Broader markets continue to bleed
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.
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Market Overview
Nifty opened with a 177-point gap-down at 23,463, tracking weak global cues and worries about higher oil prices and potential disruptions to global supply chains. After a weak start, the selling pressure continued, quickly dragging the Nifty toward the 23,300–23,320 zone within the first hour.
Through the late morning session, the index largely oscillated within a range between 23,320 and 23,400 but was gradually trending lower. By 1 PM, Nifty slipped further toward the 23,200–23,220 zone as persistent selling weighed on the index.
In the second half, weakness intensified with Nifty sliding to intraday lows near the 23,115–23,130 zone around 2 PM. Although the index saw a brief recovery attempt thereafter, climbing back toward the 23,230-250 mark, the rebound lacked follow-through, and the market sold off once again.
Nifty eventually settled at 23,151.10, ending the session significantly below its opening level, marking another weak day for markets amid continued global uncertainty and pressure from rising energy prices.
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 an extremely weak session today. Of the 3,318 stocks that traded on the NSE, 580 advanced, 2,645 declined, and 93 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
All sectoral indices ended in the red today. Nifty FMCG was the least negative performer, down 0.55%, while Nifty Metal was the top loser, plunging 4.82%.
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 March:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 23,600, indicating potential resistance at the 23,400 -23,500 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,000, followed by 22,800, suggesting support at 23,000-22,900.
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 hit a record low of 92.48 per dollar amid fears that the Iran war-driven oil surge could worsen India’s growth-inflation outlook and trigger capital outflows. Dive deeper
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed setting up an Economic Stabilisation Fund to create fiscal space for responding to global shocks, supply chain disruptions, and economic volatility. Dive deeper
Lok Sabha approved the second batch of supplementary demands, allowing an additional net government spending of ₹2.01 lakh crore in the current fiscal year. Dive deeper
Auto stocks extended losses for a third straight session as rising crude prices and LNG supply disruptions heightened concerns about input costs and demand. It has now corrected nearly 10 per cent from its closing level of 27,076.4 recorded on March 6, 2026. Dive deeper
Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles secured a pan-India order of over 5,000 buses from multiple state transport undertakings through competitive bidding. Dive deeper
HFCL won a ₹10,159 crore international contract to supply optical fibre cables over five years, marking one of the largest deals in its history. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
WTI crude traded around $95 per barrel after Iran pledged to keep the Strait of Hormuz effectively shut, intensifying fears of global supply disruptions. Dive deeper
Hong Kong’s manufacturing output grew 5.7% YoY in Q4 2025, the fastest pace since 2021, led by gains in electronics, machinery, and manufacturing sectors. Dive deeper
Eurozone industrial production fell 1.5% MoM in January, the sharpest drop since April 2025, with declines across most sectors except energy. Dive deeper
Deutsche Bank reported €26 billion exposure to private credit, a sector facing rising scrutiny due to redemptions and concerns about loan quality. Dive deeper
Bitcoin rose nearly 2% toward $72,000, extending gains for a fifth straight session as the cryptocurrency remained largely unaffected by Middle East tensions. Dive deeper
Morgan Stanley limited redemptions in its private credit fund after investors sought to withdraw nearly 11% of shares, highlighting stress in the $2 trillion private credit market. Dive deeper
The UK economy stagnated in January with no monthly growth, as weakness in services offset gains in retail and motor vehicle trade.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.
Mitranjan Bhaduri, Amazon Business Director, on the company’s growth and trends:
"Globally, Amazon Business has crossed USD 35 billion in annualised sales, based on the last publicly shared figure. In India, the business has been growing strongly, with 35% year-on-year growth in 2025."
"Amazon Business enabled businesses in India to realise over Rs 2,000 crore in financial benefits and value in 2025. Adoption has been particularly strong beyond metros, with more than 70% of customers now located in tier-2 and tier-3 cities."
"Services companies typically purchase IT equipment, office supplies, furniture, pantry appliances, and housekeeping products. Manufacturing companies procure tools, industrial equipment, and safety products required for operations. Categories, such as PCs, IT equipment, and office supplies, continue to see strong growth on the platform." - Link
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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 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!
By looking at the data, I would say patience is the key right now. Don't buy, don't sell any of your investments; stay calm. I mean look at the before and after COVID data, the market always moves with a trend running on it, and it will calm down soon.