Markets finally blink as oil prices surge once again
Nifty closes just below 24,000
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 get into the part guides treat as an afterthought – stock selection. Not a checklist, not a screener dump. A method.
Specifically, the Wagner and Pedicelli approach: find the strongest stock inside the strongest sector, and let the money flows do the heavy lifting.
We walk through two live examples using NSE sectoral indexes and the TJI sub-sector indexes, and share a custom TradingView script that builds a true equal-weighted basket — because market-cap weighting lies to you about what’s actually moving. There’s also a case for Renko charts if candlesticks are hiding more than they’re showing.
One thing worth flagging before you dive in: discretionary doesn’t mean no rules. It never has.
Markets Today
Nifty opened with a 38-point gap down at 24,150, tracking a sharp rebound in crude oil prices, which climbed comfortably above $90 per barrel. Selling pressure persisted right from the opening bell, dragging the index quickly towards the 24,020 mark within the first 30 minutes. Although buyers attempted a brief recovery around 10 AM, pushing Nifty back towards 24,050, the bounce proved short-lived as fresh selling emerged.
The index remained under pressure through the rest of the morning, gradually slipping below 24,000 by around 10:30 AM. A modest recovery followed, with Nifty climbing back towards 24,050 around 11:30 AM, but the gains were once again sold into. By the end of the first half, the index had drifted lower to around 23,980, reflecting persistent caution.
The second half remained volatile but largely range-bound. Nifty briefly slipped to an intraday low near 23,965 around 12:30 PM before recovering to the 24,000 mark. However, sustained buying failed to emerge, and the index spent most of the afternoon oscillating between 23,970 and 24,000. A sharp but short-lived spike above 24,020 in the final 30 minutes quickly fizzled out as selling returned. Nifty eventually closed at 23,996.25, ending the session just below the 24,000 mark after another day dominated by cautious sentiment and persistent selling pressure due to rising oil prices.
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 28th July:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,200, followed by 24,000, indicating potential resistance at the 24,200 -24,300 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 23,500, suggesting support at 23,800-23,700.
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
Top Stories in India
BPCL reported a Q1FY27 consolidated net loss of ₹1,873 crore, compared with a profit of ₹6,839 crore a year earlier, as suppressed fuel marketing margins outweighed higher refining margins. Revenue from operations rose 23% YoY to ₹1.59 lakh crore, while refinery throughput declined 3% to 10.15 million tonnes. Dive deeper
Eternal reported a Q1FY27 consolidated net profit of ₹92 crore, up more than 3x on a yearly basis but down 47% QoQ. Revenue surged to ₹20,211 crore, up 17% QoQ and over 2x YoY, while EBITDA rose 22% QoQ to ₹594 crore, with the EBITDA margin improving to 2.9%. Dive deeper
India's gem and jewellery exports rose 26.5% YoY to $2.21 billion in June, rebounding on lower international gold prices, improving demand across key export markets, and strong orders for gold jewellery, diamonds, and lab-grown diamonds. Dive deeper
Adani Power’s consolidated net profit rose 42% YoY to ₹4,806 crore and revenue increased 34% to ₹18,902 crore. EBITDA grew nearly 40% to ₹7,948 crore, with the EBITDA margin improving to 42%. Separately, the board approved raising the borrowing limit to ₹1 lakh crore and plans to raise up to ₹15,000 crore through a QIP and other fundraising routes to support future expansion. Dive deeper
Nestlé India’s net profit rose 48% YoY to ₹975 crore and revenue increased 25.2% to ₹6,378 crore. EBITDA grew 37.9% to ₹1,537 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 24.1%, while the company said all product categories delivered double-digit growth despite continued pressure on cocoa and sugar prices due to El Niño. Dive deeper
Bandhan Bank shares plunged nearly 17% after the lender lowered its FY27 exit RoA guidance to 1.2–1.4% from 1.6–1.8%, citing geopolitical uncertainty, below-normal monsoon rainfall, tighter liquidity conditions, higher funding costs, and elevated technology expenses. Dive deeper
IndusInd Bank reported a 47% YoY rise in Q1FY27 standalone net profit to ₹1,003 crore, driven by lower provisions for bad loans. Net interest income (NII) increased 1% to ₹4,685 crore, while asset quality improved, with gross NPA declining to 3.25% from 3.64% and net NPA to 0.95% from 1.12% a year ago. Dive deeper
Top Stories Globally
WTI crude oil surged over 4% to trade above $87 per barrel, its highest level in six weeks, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions heightened fears of supply disruptions. The rally followed the 11th consecutive night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets and ongoing concerns over the security of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Dive deeper
U.S. President Donald Trump has brought generic drugs into the tariff framework for the first time, proposing zero tariffs from August 1, 2026, followed by 100% from August 2028 and 200% from August 2029. The move is aimed at pushing pharmaceutical companies to reshore manufacturing to the U.S., expanding the administration’s focus beyond patented drugs. Dive deeper
Singapore has launched a green government infrastructure bond offering to raise between S$2.1 billion and S$2.6 billion to finance long-term sustainable infrastructure projects. The bond, maturing on August 1, 2046, carries initial price guidance of around 2.55% and forms part of the country’s broader green financing strategy. Dive deeper
AT&T reported stronger-than-expected wireless subscriber additions in the second quarter, driven by revamped low-cost unlimited plans and bundled mobile-broadband offerings. The results lifted the stock nearly 5% in premarket trading, as the company's convergence strategy continued to improve customer retention and long-term value. Dive deeper
The average rate on a 30-year fixed U.S. mortgage rose 4 basis points to 6.69% in the week ended July 17, the highest level since August 2025, reflecting persistent inflation concerns and expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated. 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.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm, reinforced that current profitability is only the beginning and that management expects both earnings and margins to continue improving over time:
“We probably announced 8% of the margin this quarter. This is a ramp up from here. It has to grow forward and forward. I know you are seeking a terminal number and Madhur is saying that it is more than 15–16%. So, the direction is that we are talking about higher profitability and higher profit both together while we are on these numbers.” - Link
Srinivas Tuttagunta, COO of Refining & Marketing at Reliance Industries, highlighted Reliance’s operational resilience by sustaining refinery throughput even as many global refiners reduced production:
“The rest of Asia had runs which were down by maybe 15% to 20% during this crisis, whereas Reliance has been able to maintain a very high throughput, almost 96% to 97%.” - Link
Corporate Actions & Events
Corporate Actions
Published by Zerodha. Not investment advice. Data from NSE, BSE, and MCX.
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!
So helpful
“Discretionary” gets expensive fast when the exit rules only appear after the trade goes wrong.