Nifty slides over 3% as HDFC Bank weakness and geopolitical tensions weigh
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 focus on an idea that is absolutely central to intraday trading: market structure statistics. We explore how skilled traders develop an intuitive feel for numbers and how you can use data as a framework to dramatically shorten your learning curve and avoid poor trading decisions. Because this episode is heavily data-driven, grab a notebook to follow along.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a big gap-down of 580 points at 23,198, tracking a major escalation in geopolitical tensions following attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, along with additional pressure from a sharp decline in HDFC Bank after the chairman’s resignation. After a weak start, the index attempted a mild recovery to 23,350 but continued to face selling pressure, slipping toward the 23,200–23,230 zone in the first hour.
Through the morning session, Nifty remained under pressure, moving largely sideways between 23,200 and 23,300 with a slight downward bias and forming lower highs. By 2 PM, the index drifted further lower toward the 23,100–23,150 range as selling persisted.
In the last hour, weakness intensified with Nifty breaking below the 23,100 mark and sliding toward the 22,930–22,950 zone around 3 PM before witnessing a sharp pullback.
A late recovery helped Nifty bounce back toward the 23,050–23,080 zone, eventually settling at 23,002.15, marking an extremely weak session overall, as markets remained under pressure from global uncertainties and weakness in heavyweight stocks.
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 bearish session today. Of the 3,306 stocks that traded on the NSE, 532 advanced, 2,677 declined, and 97 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Sectoral weakness was broad-based today, with no sectors closing in the green. Nifty Energy was the least negative performer, down 1.39%, while Nifty Auto was the top loser, falling sharply by 4.25%.
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 23,500, followed by 23,300, indicating potential resistance at the 23,300 -23,400 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,000, followed by 22,500, suggesting support at 22,800-22,700.
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
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 Indian rupee weakened to a record low near 93.4 per dollar, pressured by surging oil prices and escalating Middle East tensions. Dive deeper
HDFC Bank shares fell over 4% after its chairman resigned citing ethical concerns, raising questions around governance. Dive deeper
The RBI has approved a transition plan for HDFC Bank following the resignation of its part-time chairman. The regulator noted the bank’s strong financial position and stable management, ensuring continuity during the leadership change. RBI clarified that there are no material concerns around governance or conduct. Dive deeper
BHEL will invest ₹3,064 crore in its joint venture with Coal India to develop a coal-to-chemicals project, with funding spread over four years. Dive deeper
The RBI has approved Bain Capital’s ₹4,385 crore investment in Manappuram Finance, enabling the private equity firm to acquire up to ~41.7% stake and gain joint control with existing promoters. Dive deeper
Shares of HPCL, BPCL, and IOC fell up to 5%, nearing 52-week lows, as a sharp rise in crude oil prices amid Middle East tensions raised concerns over margin pressure and profitability for oil marketing companies. Dive deeper
Shares of Stove Kraft and TTK Prestige rose up to ~9% after an Iranian strike on a major LNG facility in Qatar raised concerns over global gas supply disruptions. Dive deeper
RNFI has launched a UPI QR-based cardless cash withdrawal service in partnership with Jio Payments Bank, enabling users to withdraw cash instantly without a debit card. Dive deeper
JSW Steel’s coated products unit has sought government support to secure LNG and propane supplies amid shortages caused by the Iran conflict. Dive deeper
Advance tax collections grew over 6% in the current fiscal despite a decline in non-corporate tax inflows, according to Income Tax Department data. While FY26 targets are likely to be met, experts caution that the West Asia conflict could impact collections in the coming months. Dive deeper
Coal India’s arm BCCL recorded a record single-day coal booking of about 2.37 lakh tonnes under its discount scheme aimed at clearing stockpiles. Strong demand was seen during the e-auction, with rail bookings at 1.8 lakh tonnes and road bookings at around 56,850 tonnes. Dive deeper
Accenture reported Q2 revenue of $18 billion, missing estimates of $18.72 billion, though it grew 8% YoY. Despite the miss, the company raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to 3–5%, supported by strong demand for AI-driven solutions and steady deal bookings. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Crude oil prices rose as the Israel–Iran conflict escalated, pushing Brent higher towards 118$ per barrel amid concerns over attacks on energy infrastructure and disruptions to supply routes. Dive deeper
The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged but signalled it could raise rates if economic and inflation conditions evolve in line with its outlook. Dive deeper
Gold fell to around $4,710 per ounce, hitting a six-week low as the Fed’s hawkish stance reduced expectations of rate cuts. Dive deeper
The Bank of England kept its policy rate unchanged at 3.75%, citing rising energy prices from Middle East tensions and associated inflation risks. Dive deeper
US stock futures were muted and near four-month lows, as rising energy prices heightened stagflation concerns and reduced expectations of rate cuts. Dive deeper
U.S. wholesale inflation came in higher than expected in February, with the producer price index rising 0.7% month-on-month and 3.4% year-on-year. The uptick was largely driven by a sharp increase in food prices, marking the fastest annual rise in a year. 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.
Keki Mistry, Interim chairman of HDFC Bank, after the former chairman, Atanu Chakraborty’s resignation:
“I remain confident of the bank's franchise. The management stands together will ensure the best standards of governance. I would like to reiterate at that end of that I would not personally taken up the role if this was not assigned with my values.”
"When we asked Chakraborty for instances of lack of governance, he said nothing, and hence, we used the word "baffled" to describe how we viewed the resignation letter. We do not understand what led to the reaction from the chairman yesterday. It may have been a routine issue, which is no different from the issues that happen in any other bank." - 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.
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Calendars
In the coming days, we have the following significant events and corporate actions:
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