Relief rally continues as oil prices drop on de-escalation hopes
Nifty tests 23,450 on the upside, Closing above 23,300
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 gap up of 152 points at 23,064, following further visible steps toward de-escalation, which led to a cooling in oil prices. The index saw steady buying right from the start, climbing gradually through the opening hour and moving toward the 23,250–23,300 zone.
The uptrend continued into the late morning session, with Nifty making higher highs and testing the 23,430–23,450 range around 12:30 PM. It largely held near these elevated levels through the early afternoon, indicating sustained buying interest.
However, After 2 PM, profit booking set in near the highs. The index gradually drifted lower, slipping from the 23,450 zone toward 23,290–23,300 in the last hour and eventually closed at 23,306.45, marking a positive session overall, though with some cooling off from intraday highs due to late profit-taking.
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 a strong bullish follow-through session today. Of the 3,368 stocks that traded on the NSE, 2,425 advanced, 852 declined, and 91 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Sectoral performance was strongly positive today, with Nifty Consumer Durables leading the gains, up 3.51%, while Nifty IT was the least positive performer, rising just 0.08%. Overall, all 12 sectors closed in green, with 0 sectors 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 30th March:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 23,000 & 23,800, indicating potential resistance at the 23,500 -23,600 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,000, followed by 23,200, suggesting support at 23,100-23,000.
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 hovered near 94 per dollar, stabilizing close to record lows as easing oil prices improved sentiment. However, persistent FPI outflows and strong dollar demand continue to limit any meaningful recovery. Dive deeper
S&P Global raised India’s FY27 growth forecast by 40 bps to 7.1%, driven by resilient consumption, improving private investment, and steady exports. However, it flagged downside risks from geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainties, which could impact commodity prices, trade flows, and capital movement. Dive deeper
Volatility in crude oil prices is raising inflation risks in India ahead of the RBI’s April policy meeting, with spillovers through fuel, fertiliser and currency channels. Dive deeper
Indian refiners have secured around 60 million barrels of Russian oil for next month, helping ease supply concerns amid disruptions from the Middle East conflict. The cargoes were bought at premiums of $5–$15 over Brent, with volumes more than doubling compared to February, according to Kpler data. Dive deeper
India has ordered steps to accelerate natural gas infrastructure development, aiming to ease supply constraints amid disruptions from the Middle East conflict. Dive deeper
The government has extended the PM E-Drive scheme until March 2028 due to slow fund utilisation since its launch in 2024. Dive deeper
Natco Pharma has approved a scheme to demerge its agrochemicals business into its wholly owned subsidiary Natco Crop Health Sciences. Shareholders will receive shares in the new entity in a 1:1 ratio as part of the restructuring. Dive deeper
Biocon is expected to gain market share in Europe’s insulin segment as Eli Lilly joins Novo Nordisk in exiting some parts of the market. Dive deeper
Reliance Jio is reportedly in talks with about 13 foreign investors to reduce their individual stakes by around 8% ahead of its IPO. Dive deeper
Eternal and Swiggy shares rose about 2% following recent platform fee hikes, supporting near-term sentiment. Dive deeper
Employment in India’s unincorporated sector rose 6.18% to 12.8 crore in 2025, adding over 74 lakh jobs. The growth was broad-based, with strong expansion in establishments and GVA across trade, manufacturing, and services. Dive deeper
Manappuram Finance shares rose about .5% after Bain Capital’s open offer to acquire a 26% stake is set to open on April 6 and run till April 20. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude fell about 4% to near $94 per barrel as reports of potential US-led ceasefire talks with Iran eased supply concerns. Dive deeper
Gold rose above $4,500 per ounce as optimism over potential US-Iran talks boosted sentiment. Dive deeper
Silver rose above $73 per ounce, extending gains as optimism over potential US-Iran talks improved market sentiment. Dive deeper
UK inflation held steady at 3% in February, in line with expectations, with higher clothing and housing costs offset by easing fuel and food prices. Dive deeper
The dollar index held near 99.4 as markets weighed prospects of de-escalation in the Iran conflict. Dive deeper
Japanese government bonds rose for a second straight session as a decline in crude oil prices eased inflation concerns, supporting demand for safer assets. 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.
Brad Smith, President, Microsoft on data centres:
“Gaining the approval of local communities has become paramount to building data centres in the U.S.”
“We need to be a good neighbour in the communities where we build and operate our data centres.”
“Communities value jobs and revenue, but not if they come with higher power bills or tighter water supplies.” - 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:
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!