Sharp gap-down drags Nifty under 24,500 as geopolitical risks dominate
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 break down the SEBI framework around Research Analysts (RAs) and Investment Advisers (RIAs), clarify what is legal and what is not, and explain why unlicensed “tip calls” on social media, WhatsApp, or Telegram are a major red flag.
But legality is only the starting point. Even when advice comes from a SEBI-registered professional, blindly copying calls can still be risky. We discuss slippage, liquidity constraints, fee structures, cost realities, position sizing, capital allocation, and the gap between reported returns and real-world outcomes. If you’ve ever received a “sure-shot” trading call, this episode gives you a practical checklist to evaluate it — and shows how to use research without outsourcing your judgment.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a big gap-down of 477 points at 24,389 as the Middle East conflict continued to escalate, raising concerns around supply disruptions in oil and gas markets. The index saw some stabilisation after the sharp opening drop and attempted a mild recovery, gradually climbing toward the 24,420–24,450 zone during the first half as early panic selling subsided.
Through the late morning session, Nifty traded largely sideways with intermittent pullbacks, holding above the 24,350–24,380 range as markets tried to find a near-term base.
In the second half, buying interest strengthened gradually, helping the index recover further as the index decisively crossed 24,450 mark after 2 PM and tested 24,570–24,600 zone around 2:50-3 PM. However, some profit-taking in the final 30 minutes trimmed the intraday recovery as Nifty eventually settled at 24,480.50, marking a volatile session characterised by a sharp gap-down, steady intraday recovery, and mild late-session profit-taking.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global geopolitical news and risk appetite, news flow around AI-led disruptions, and key domestic cues.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had an extremely weak, bearish session today. Of the 3,337 stocks that traded on the NSE, 673 advanced, 2,577 declined, and 87 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty IT was the only sector to close in green, gaining 0.11%, while Nifty Metal was the top loser, falling 3.99%. Overall, 1 sector closed in green and 11 sectors ended 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 10th March:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,000, followed by 24,500, indicating potential resistance at the 24,700 -24,800 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 24,000, followed by 24,400 & 24,500, suggesting support at 24,300-24,200.
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 Indian rupee weakened to a record low above 92 per dollar as surging crude prices and a stronger US dollar pressured the currency amid heightened geopolitical tensions. Dive deeper
India’s 10-year G-Sec yield rose to 6.7%, extending gains as rising crude prices and geopolitical tensions heightened inflation and current account concerns ahead of a key debt auction. Dive deeper
MRF signed a non-binding MoU with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a greenfield tyre manufacturing facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park in Sivaganga. Dive deeper
Paras Defence shares were in focus after the company signed an MoU with South Korea’s Green Optics to collaborate in optics and optical systems. Dive deeper
Russia said it is ready to fully meet India’s energy needs if West Asia supply disruptions persist, following attacks on QatarEnergy infrastructure and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. Dive deeper
Sugar stocks such as Balrampur Chini rallied as a surge in global oil prices raised expectations that Brazil may divert more sugarcane toward ethanol production, tightening global sugar supply. Dive deeper
Metal stocks such as Tata Steel, Vedanta and Hindustan Copper fell as escalating Iran–Israel tensions triggered a sell-off in commodity-linked stocks. Dive deeper
India’s services sector growth moderated in February, with the PMI easing to 58.1 as new business expanded at the slowest pace in over a year. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude slipped below $75 per barrel after a sharp rally, as reports of indirect Iran–US contact raised hopes of potential de-escalation in the Middle East conflict. Dive deeper
Qatar halted LNG production after its facilities were attacked amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, disrupting supplies and squeezing feedstock availability for key sectors. Dive deeper
Gold rebounded above $5,160 per ounce as investors tracked escalating Middle East tensions and uncertainty over the conflict’s trajectory. Dive deeper
Copper rose toward $5.9 per pound, rebounding after two sessions of losses as investors monitored Middle East developments and broader metals market sentiment. Dive deeper
South Korea's Kospi crashed 12.1% to 5,093.54, marking its worst single-day decline and triggering circuit breakers on both Kospi and Kosdaq (down 14%) as escalating Middle East tensions sparked panic selling. Dive deeper
The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to around 4.09% as surging energy prices linked to the Iran conflict heightened inflation concerns. Dive deeper
European natural gas futures fell over 5% to €50.6/MWh after a sharp two-day rally, as reports of potential Iran talks raised hopes of easing Middle East tensions. Dive deeper
Australia’s economy grew 0.8% quarter-on-quarter in Q4, beating expectations and marking the 17th straight quarter of expansion, driven by steady domestic demand and inventory rebuilding. Dive deeper
Airbus has been selected by the European Defence Agency to expand the capabilities of its CAPA-X drone under a strategic 48-month project. Dive deeper
OpenAI launched GPT-5.3 Instant, a faster model designed to improve accuracy and reduce unnecessary refusals and defensive responses. Dive deeper
Management chatter
In this section, we highlight interesting comments made by the management of major companies and policymakers from the Indian and Global Economies.
Mathew Oommen, Group CEO at Jio Platforms on being token services provider:
“We believe Jio will be one of the first scalable token services provider. We are determined to deliver the lowest cost of dollar per token per watt. We do not want to be the largest token pipe. The question is: can we become the fabric of that AI infrastructure and become the owner of the tokenomics? That is the opportunity, so we can be the largest token generator opportunity,” - Link
Nikhil Nanda, Chairman and MD of Escorts Kubota on plans to become a pan-Indian company:
“We have growing ambition to become a pan-Indian company”
“Southern India is central to Escorts Kubota’s next phase of growth, and we are strengthening our presence through focused, high-quality, application-led products” - 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!