Nifty overcomes early weakness and closes strongly above 25,800
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 move from concepts into practical implementation by using real backtest data to build a position sizing framework that can actually survive real market conditions.
The episode closes by explaining why option buying requires separate backtests due to different payoff structures and decay dynamics. The core idea is simple: position sizing is about survival first, returns later.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a small 28-point gap-up at 25,753 but saw immediate weakness in the opening hour, slipping sharply toward the 25,650–25,660 zone as early selling pressure kicked in. After stabilising near the lows till 10:45 AM, the index gradually recovered through the late morning session and traded with a mild positive bias, reclaiming the 25,700 mark by noon.
In the second half, Nifty continued to grind higher in a choppy manner, holding above 25,700 for most of the afternoon. A sharp rally after 2 PM pushed the index decisively higher, with Nifty surging above 25,800 and closing near the day’s highs at 25,819.35. Overall, it was a strong session marked by early weakness, steady recovery, and a powerful late-session upmove.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global risk appetite and key domestic cues.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had a mixed session with a bullish bias today. Of the 3,280 stocks that traded on the NSE, 1,715 advanced, 1,458 declined, and 107 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty Metal was the top gainer today, up 1.33%, while Nifty IT was the top loser, down 1.23%. Overall, 11 sectors closed in green and 1 sector 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 February:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 26,000, followed by 25,800, indicating potential resistance at the 25,900 -26,000 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,700, followed by 25,500, suggesting support at 25,700-25,600.
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 rose 5 paise to 90.67 per dollar in early trade, supported by lower crude oil prices and FII inflows. Dive deeper
L&T has partnered with Nvidia to build India’s largest gigawatt-scale AI factory under the India AI Mission, combining L&T’s infrastructure capabilities with Nvidia’s GPUs, CPUs, networking, and AI software stack. Dive deeper
India’s Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) industry has surpassed ₹15.05 lakh crore in cumulative commitments, reflecting its rapid growth and maturation as private markets deepen. Dive deeper
India’s 2025/26 sugar output is likely to fall to 28.5–29 million tonnes, below ISMA’s 30.95 million-tonne forecast, due to excessive rainfall hitting cane yields across key states. Dive deeper
Wipro is exploring a formal partnership with AI developer Anthropic to deepen its use of advanced AI models across the business, having already been a long-time user of Anthropic’s technology, its CTO said. Dive deeper
India has begun easing post-2020 restrictions on Chinese equipment, allowing state-run power and coal firms limited imports to address shortages and project delays. Dive deeper
Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. has won a ₹1,200 crore contract from Northern Railway to design and build a new rail-cum-road bridge over the Ganga near Varanasi, to be completed in four years. Dive deeper
Aurobindo Pharma shares fell nearly 2% after the USFDA issued nine observations following an inspection of its Unit 7 manufacturing facility in Jedcherla, Telangana. The observations highlighted deficiencies in quality systems, documentation, and data integrity at the plant Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude rebounded above $69 per barrel as markets weighed tentative progress in US–Iran nuclear talks alongside ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine. Dive deeper
Gold rebounded to around $4,930 per ounce on dip buying as markets reassessed the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook ahead of key economic data. Dive deeper
Silver rose above $75 per ounce on dip buying as investors positioned ahead of the Fed’s meeting minutes, with markets still pricing in multiple rate cuts this year. Dive deeper
The euro weakened toward $1.18 amid reports that ECB President Christine Lagarde may step down early, adding uncertainty over future leadership. Dive deeper
UK inflation eased to 3.0% in January, the lowest since March 2025, driven by softer transport and food price increases. Core inflation also moderated, indicating a gradual cooling in underlying price pressures. Dive deeper
Japan’s exports rose 16.8% year-on-year in January, the fastest pace since late 2022, driven by strong demand from China and other Asian markets. Dive deeper
Japan will invest $36 billion in U.S. oil, gas, and critical minerals as the first tranche of its $550 billion pledge under a new trade deal with President Trump. PM Sanae Takaichi said the goal is to strengthen supply chains across minerals, energy, and AI. Dive deeper
Berkshire Hathaway cut its Amazon stake by nearly 75% in Q4 while taking a new $352 million position in The New York Times. The disclosure sparked a sharp after-hours jump in NYT shares and signalled a shift away from big tech toward media. Dive deeper
Management chatter
In this section, we highlight interesting comments made by the management of major companies and policymakers from the Indian and Global Economies.
Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce & Industry Minister, on trade deal concessions:
“Concessions under every free trade agreement have been given only after private sector approval.”
“We will not give concessions that harm our sensitive sectors or domestic industry; any agreement is crafted with industry feedback.”
“India’s FTAs are progressive and ensure a balance between market access and protecting core national interests.” - 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!