Sell-off deepens as Nifty plummets below 23,400

Falling over 1,100 points in 4 days

May 12, 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, From the macro forces that shape markets over long periods — interest rates, institutional flows, currency, and commodities — to the structural and regulatory shifts like taxation changes, leverage rules, and derivatives evolution, and finally to what you can observe directly in price, volatility, and market breadth, most market changes fit into one of three broad pillars.

This episode breaks down all three lenses of market regimes and explains why identifying them in real time is far harder than in hindsight — and why that distinction matters deeply for how we trade.

Check out In The Money

Markets Today

Nifty opened with a gap down of 93 points at 23,723, extending the weakness seen over the last three sessions. The index came under immediate selling pressure, slipping sharply toward the 23,620–23,650 zone within the first hour.

After the early decline, Nifty remained subdued through the late morning session, trading in a narrow 23,580–23,620 range with only brief recovery attempts.

Selling pressure intensified further in the second half, dragging the index steadily lower. Nifty slipped below the 23,500 mark after 1:30 PM and extended losses toward the day’s low near the 23,350–23,360 zone in the final hour before eventually closing near the lows at 23,379.55.

The session was marked by broad-based weakness and relentless selling pressure throughout the day.

Nifty crashed 436 points, or 1.83%, to 23,379.55. Sensex fell 1.92%, while Bank Nifty dropped 1.63%. Market breadth collapsed to just 38 advances against 462 declines — the weakest reading in the current correction cycle. VIX rose 3.94% to 19.28 as market nervousness intensified.

Sectoral Indices Performance

All twelve sectors closed red. Metal held up best, down just 0.35%. PSU Bank fell 1.1%, Energy 1.25%, Pharma 1.36%. The carnage hit growth names hard: Media dropped 2.77%, IT crumbled 3.73%, Realty collapsed 4.11%. No sector escaped.

Winners & Losers

The midcap index cratered 2.52%, underperforming Nifty for the second straight session. The breadth wipeout tells the story: just 38 stocks finished green out of 500. Indiscriminate selling across the board.

Momentum Screener

Global Markets

Commodities

Crude surged 3.17% to ₹9,673, reversing last week’s collapse. Gold flat at ₹1,53,524, silver down 0.84%. The oil spike adds inflation concerns as India’s CPI data lands tomorrow. Dollar-rupee climbed 0.41% to 95.72, reflecting FII outflows.

Bond Yields & Currency

India 10Y yield at 7.05%. US 10Y at 4.42%. The rupee weakening past 95.70 is the clearest signal of sustained capital flight. Bond markets stable, but currency pressure building.

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 19th May:

The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,500, followed by 23,800, indicating potential resistance at the 23,600 -23,700 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 23,000, followed by 23,500, suggesting support at 23,200-23,100.

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.

Uday Kotak, Founder and Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, on the significant “shock” that the Global economy can face:

“We haven’t seen the impact of the war in two months, but now it’s coming, and it’s coming big …You are not far away from the shock unless the Iran war stops tomorrow morning. We need to get ready for tough times rather than waiting for the shock to hit us.”
“We should prepare for paranoia before the event.” - Link

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on the current situation amidst the crisis:

India has 60 days of crude oil reserves, LNG supply, and 45 days of LPG stock. LPG production has been ramped up from 35,000-36,000 tonnes/day to 54,000 tonnes/day.
"You said how the last 75 days have been. Never any dearth of excitement. It's been a challenge, but I think the message that needs to go across is that we've converted that challenge into an opportunity. No other country in the world, and I say this with a degree of confidence, no other country in the world, which is so heavily into energy. And there's some popular misconception that we're only energy importers. Hey, please, we're also the third largest refiner in the world. We're also the fourth largest exporter in the world..." - Link