Nifty halts the slide and closes flat near 23,400 after a choppy session

Broader markets return to green; IT sector bleeds over 1% once again

May 13, 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 the macro forces that shape markets over long periods — interest rates, institutional flows, currency, and commodities — to the structural and regulatory shifts like taxation changes, leverage rules, and derivatives evolution, and finally to what you can observe directly in price, volatility, and market breadth, most market changes fit into one of three broad pillars.

This episode breaks down all three lenses of market regimes and explains why identifying them in real time is far harder than in hindsight — and why that distinction matters deeply for how we trade.

Check out In The Money

Markets Today

Nifty opened with a small gap down of 17 points at 24,362, extending the weakness from the previous four sessions. After an initial uptick toward the 24,500 mark, the index came under sharp selling pressure, slipping quickly toward the 23,260–23,280 zone within the first 30 minutes.

The early weakness, however, was bought into aggressively. Nifty recovered steadily through the late morning session, reclaiming the 23,400 mark by 10:30 AM and gradually moving toward the 23,500 zone by noon despite intermittent dips.

In the second half, momentum strengthened further, pushing the index toward the day’s high near 23,580 around 1 PM. Thereafter, Nifty turned range-bound, oscillating largely between 23,480 and 23,520 through most of the afternoon.

Selling pressure returned in the final hour, dragging the index back toward the 23,400 mark before it eventually closed nearly flat at 23,412.60.

Nifty rose 0.14% to 23,413, snapping a three-session losing streak despite Bank Nifty slipping 0.18% to 53,456. Breadth remained positive with 301 advances against 197 declines, while VIX edged up 0.78% to 19.43, staying elevated near multi-month highs.

Sectoral Indices Performance

Metals surged 3.18%, the sharpest single-day jump in weeks, lifting Infra 0.92% and Energy 0.7%. FMCG added 0.3%. IT bled another 1.13%, extending a brutal run that’s now dragged the sector down over 10% since late April. Auto dropped 0.97%, and Realty slipped 0.19%. Six of twelve sectors closed green.

Winners & Losers

Midcap outperformed sharply, rising 0.73% to 14,074, a welcome divergence after 4 days of heavy selling. The advance-decline ratio on the broader universe turned positive for the first time in three sessions, suggesting the worst of the panic may be pausing.

Momentum Screener

Global Markets

Commodities

Gold surged 5.9% to ₹1,62,497 and silver jumped 6.59% to ₹2,97,461, the sharpest moves in months on import duty hike. Crude edged up 0.4% to $97.62, holding near elevated levels. The precious metals spike signals unease elsewhere in the system.

Bond Yields & Currency

India 10Y yield held at 7.042%. US 10Y yield rose to 4.46%. The rupee strengthened marginally by 0.04% to 95.7.

FII / DII Flows

Here’s the trend of FII-DII activity from the last 5 days:

Thematic Indices

Tijori’s niche indices, where pockets of the market beyond standard sector baskets are sorted by today’s move. 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 19th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 23,900, indicating potential resistance at the 23,600 -23,700 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,000, followed by 23,500 & 23,400, suggesting support at 23,200-23,100.

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.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, on the possibility of fuel price hike and inflation targeting:

“If this is to continue for a longer period of time, it is just a matter of time before the government will pass on some of the price increases.”
“We have this framework of flexible inflation targeting, but in such times it’s not sufficient, if the supply shock is as big as it is.” - Link

Atul Lall, MD & CEO of Dixon, on JV with Vivo:

“As far as Vivo is concerned, we are already deeply engaged with the government. We feel that we are very, very close to it. There have definitely been some aberrations and delays, particularly around Vivo government approval.”
“Last year, we sold around 35 million units. On an annualised basis, exports and additional Vivo business can add another 20–22 million units over time.” - Link