Oil surge dampens mood as Nifty struggles for direction

Broader markets continue to be the bright spot

May 05, 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, we shift focus to the two most understated — yet arguably most important — aspects of scalping: position sizing and psychology. No strategy works without the discipline to size correctly and the mental fortitude to execute under pressure.

We walk through a practical framework for fixing your daily risk budget, translating it into capital requirements, and dynamically adjusting position size across S1, S2, and S3 throughout the trading day. We also explain why margin requirements should never be the basis for your risk management — that system was built to protect brokers, not optimise your trading.

In the psychology segment, we cover the concept of tilt — what it is, why it happens, and how to manage it before it spirals into significant losses. As discussed in the video, the ideal mental state for a scalper is emotional neutrality: neither euphoria on wins, nor distress on losses.

Check out In The Money

Markets Today

Nifty opened with a 67-point gap down at 24,053, tracking weak global cues amid renewed Middle East tensions. Early volatility pushed the index below 23,950 within the first hour.

Selling pressure persisted through the morning, dragging Nifty to the day’s low around 23,880–23,900 by noon.

In the second half, a strong recovery set in post 12:30 PM, with Nifty reclaiming 24,000 and moving up to the 24,050–24,080 zone by around 1 PM. The index then turned choppy but held a slight positive bias, oscillating between 24,020 and 24,060 for most of the afternoon.

In the final hour, Nifty held these levels and closed at 24,032.80. The session saw a weak start, a sharp morning sell-off, and a solid second-half recovery, ending slightly lower but resilient.

Nifty slipped 0.36% to 24,032.8, weighed down by Bank Nifty’s 0.6% decline and a 1.4% drop in Realty. Breadth remained narrow at 241 advances versus 259 declines, while VIX eased 2.1% to 17.9.

Sectoral Indices Performance

FMCG led with a 0.64% gain, Auto close behind at 0.63%, and Pharma added 0.4%. Metal stayed barely green at 0.13%. On the other side, Infra slipped 0.3%, Bank Nifty lost 0.6%, and Realty crumbled 1.41% to become the day’s worst performer.

Winners & Losers

Midcap 100 bucked the trend, up 0.14% to 13,950.25, even as Nifty itself slipped. Eight of 12 sectors stayed green, but breadth was evenly split, a sign that broader markets did the heavy lifting while the heavyweights treaded water.

Momentum Screener

Global Markets

Commodities

Crude dropped 1.24% to ₹9,932, the first meaningful fall in days. Gold ticked up 0.12%, silver climbed 0.69%.

Bond Yields & Currency

India 10Y yield held at 7.022%. US 10Y at 4.45%, unchanged. USD/INR flat at 95.39. No drama in bonds, which kept the macro backdrop stable even as equities wobbled.

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 12th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,500, followed by 24,000 & 24,200, indicating potential resistance at the 24,300 -24,400 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 23,700, suggesting support at 23,900-23,800.

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