Nifty stays shaky near higher levels ahead of monthly expiry
23,900 - 24,100 remains the key zone to watch
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 argue that many of the ideas that transformed investing didn’t come from trading desks—they came from academic research papers.
In this episode, we walk through four papers that didn't just describe markets but rewired how we understand them:
Harry Markowitz (1952) — why picking the "best" stock is gambling, and why diversification is the only free lunch in investing.
William Sharpe (1964) — why some risk can't be diversified away, and how beta became the price tag for bearing it.
Eugene Fama (1991) — an honest reassessment of market efficiency, including the cracks Fama himself admitted existed in his own theory.
Fama & French (1992) — why beta explains almost nothing, and how size and value quietly became the real drivers of stock returns.
Markets Today
Nifty opened flat at 24,062, tracking mixed global cues as AI stocks remained under pressure while crude oil prices stayed stable near $70 a barrel despite geopolitical tensions over the weekend. After a volatile start, the index moved higher in the first hour, climbing toward the 24,100 mark before selling pressure emerged.
The index gradually slipped through the late morning session, giving up its early gains and falling below 24,000 by around noon. Selling intensified further around 12:30 PM, dragging Nifty to the day’s low near the 23,930 zone.
In the second half, the index recovered modestly and traded in a narrow range between 23,940 and 23,980 for most of the afternoon. Despite several recovery attempts, Nifty struggled to reclaim the 24,000 mark and eventually closed the day at 23,946.25.
The session was marked by early optimism followed by broad-based selling through the first half. While buyers emerged near the day’s lows, the recovery remained limited, ahead of tomorrow’s monthly F&O expiry.
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 30th June:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 24,100, indicating potential resistance at the 24,100 -24,200 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
India’s industrial output grew 5.1% year-on-year in May, driven by strong growth in manufacturing (5.5%) and electricity and gas supply (9.9%), while mining output contracted 1.6%. Within manufacturing, motor vehicles, electrical equipment, and basic metals were the key contributors to growth. Dive deeper
Shares of Persistent Systems fell over 11% after announcing its largest-ever overseas acquisition, a €1.1 billion takeover of Frankfurt-listed Nagarro. Persistent has already secured a 21% stake and expects to complete the transaction by Q4 CY26 or Q1 CY27. Dive deeper
Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank fell nearly 3% after MD & CEO Ashok Vaswani said he would not seek reappointment and will step down when his term ends in December. The bank has initiated the process to appoint a new CEO in line with regulatory timelines. Dive deeper
Axis Bank said Chief Financial Officer Puneet Sharma has resigned to pursue the next phase of his professional journey and will step down from his role on August 31. Dive deeper
The Delhi government has approved a new EV policy offering 100% exemption on road tax and registration fees for electric cars priced up to ₹30 lakh, along with subsidies of up to ₹30,000 for electric two-wheelers. The policy also mandates that only electric autorickshaws will be registered from January 2027, while registrations of new petrol and CNG two-wheelers will be phased out from April 2028. Dive deeper
BPCL will acquire a 40% stake in Tiki Tar and Shell India for ₹85 crore to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing value-added bitumen market. The acquisition, aimed at capitalising on India’s infrastructure growth, is expected to be completed within 90 days. Dive deeper
Shares of Hexaware Technologies rose over 4.5% after the company was named an Anthropic Authorized Reseller for Amazon Bedrock. The approval allows Hexaware to resell Claude, placing it among a select group of global partners authorised to offer Anthropic’s AI models. Dive deeper
India’s residential sales fell to 90,715 units in the April-June quarter, the lowest since January 2023, as West Asia-related uncertainty and supply chain disruptions weighed on buyer sentiment. Sales were down 6% YoY and 11% QoQ, while FY26 sales at 4.04 lakh units were the weakest since FY23. Dive deeper
Top Stories Globally
Crude oil rebounded to around $70 per barrel after the U.S. and Iran agreed to halt mutual attacks ahead of peace talks later this week. Prices were also supported by supply concerns after a supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Qatari oil was struck near the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily disrupting regional shipping. Dive deeper
South Korea unveiled a more than $576 billion industrial strategy focused on semiconductors and artificial intelligence, with President Lee Jae-myung aiming to strengthen the country's global technology leadership and drive more balanced economic growth. Dive deeper
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell below 4.38%, its lowest level since early May, as lower oil and fuel prices eased inflation concerns. Improved tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz also reduced expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve response, keeping yields near two-month lows. Dive deeper
British American Tobacco will cut 5,500 jobs globally as part of its "Fit2Win" programme, aimed at accelerating its AI-led transformation, streamlining operations, and improving cost efficiency. The restructuring is intended to build a leaner, more technology-focused organisation amid a rapidly evolving business environment. Dive deeper
The Japanese yen traded little changed at around 161.7 per dollar, hovering near its weakest level since 1986 despite stronger-than-expected retail sales data. Expectations that the Bank of Japan will continue raising interest rates this year were offset by broad U.S. dollar strength. 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.
Sudarshan Venu, Chairman and MD of TVS Motors on R&D, EV and FY27 outlook:
“We are investing ₹1,254 crore annually in R&D, with more than 2,000 engineers working at the intersection of electrification, connected platforms and AI-driven design.”
As energy price shocks cause uncertainty, EV adoption will likely rise. The companies that understand how electric vehicles will define mobility in the future will lead that shift. Your Company is already there.”
"We expect to perform in line with market expectations, in our primary market in India, barring any weather shocks that may impact the monsoons or any other unforeseen circumstances. Noting that India's GDP is expected to grow above 6 per cent in FY 2026-27, "makes us cautiously optimistic about our performance." - Link
Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Infosys, directly addressed investor concerns that AI could reduce the need for traditional IT services companies:
“Now, more than 3 years after the launch of generative AI, Infosys is more relevant than ever before and well-positioned for the decade ahead.”
“AI will not replace companies like ours; it will amplify those who move with purpose and adapt with speed.” - Link
Corporate Actions & Events
Corporate Actions
Published by Zerodha. Not investment advice. Data from NSE, BSE, and MCX.
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