Nifty tests 24,300, slips off highs ahead of key events

Midcaps take a breather after a strong run

Apr 29, 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.

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We go beyond the fear and into the framework: how drawdowns signal opportunity, how trend following captures downside moves, and why high implied volatility environments can actually be a trader's best friend.

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Markets Today

Nifty opened with a gap up of 101 points at 24,097, showing relative strength despite subdued global cues and firm crude prices. The index saw steady buying in the opening hour, climbing toward the 24,250–24,300 zone.

After the strong start, Nifty consolidated through the late morning session, trading in a narrow 24,250–24,300 range with a slight upward bias, and briefly testing the 24,320 zone around 1 PM.

In the second half, the index struggled to hold gains as selling pressure gradually emerged. Nifty drifted lower post 1:30 PM, slipping below 24,200 and moving toward the 24,150–24,170 zone. Recovery attempts were short-lived, with sellers retaining control. In the final hour, the index remained under pressure and eventually closed at 24,177.65. The session was defined by a strong opening rally followed by steady profit booking into the close.

Nifty rose 0.76% to 24,177.65, reclaiming the 21-day EMA after yesterday’s dip. Bank Nifty was largely flat at 55,403. VIX eased 3.4% to 17.4, while market breadth remained mixed at 266 advances versus 234 declines, reflecting a slightly defensive undertone. Going forward, Markets are likely to react to upcoming state election results, Q4 earnings, and global cues.

Sectoral Indices Performance

FMCG led with 1.75%, Realty up 1.48%, and Auto added 1.15%. Consumption gained 1.02%. Eight of 12 sectors closed green. Media slipped 0.49%, PSU Banks fell 0.41%, and Energy dipped 0.07%.

Winners & Losers

Midcap slid 0.31% to 13,932.70, lagging large caps for the second day. Smallcap breadth thinned out alongside broader participation rolling into defensive names.

Momentum Screener

Global Markets

Commodities

Crude jumped 3.3% to ₹9,800, extending Monday’s surge and pressuring import-heavy sectors. Gold dropped 0.5% to ₹1,49,241. Silver slipped 0.28%.

Bond Yields & Currency

India 10Y yield held near 6.997%. US 10Y yield at 4.36%. Rupee weakened 0.11% to 95.04 against the dollar, reacting to crude’s climb.

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 5th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,500, followed by 24,300 & 24,200, indicating potential resistance at the 24,400 -24,500 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 24,200, suggesting support at 24,000-23,900.

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.

R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India on Market share and production capacity:

“What happens to market share is an offshoot of what is happening to the total market. It does not affect my performance in the sense that if I am doing a 100% capacity utilisation and sale of my cars and I am making reasonable profits, why do I care too much about market share.”
“We are very happy that we have had this opportunity to grow in the second half of the year (FY26). The growth is going to continue because during the current year an extra line has been commissioned each at Kharkhoda and Hansalpur, with each having a full capacity of 2,50,000 units a year. Because they have just started production, the expectation is that during the year, these two lines will add roughly around 2,50,000 cars to our production capacity.” - Link

Dilip Shanghvi, MD, Sun Pharma on the current cash-based Organon deal with the previous stock-funded Ranbaxy acquisition:

“At that point in time, we were of course a much smaller company, but at that time we were also buying another company which was almost 80% of our company in terms of size. We did not pay for that acquisition through cash, but we paid for that acquisition through a much more expensive currency; we paid through our stock. The dilution to Sun Pharma shareholders was close to 20%.” - Link