Tech meltdown pushes Nifty below 25,450
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 the most practical question in derivatives trading: how to size options strategies in the real world.
We extend the backtest-driven framework from futures into structured option strategies like short straddles and strangles, with a clear focus on the Indian F&O environment where cash, margin rules, and lot-size changes directly shape risk.
Market Overview
Nifty opened with a 71-point gap down at 25,642 and faced immediate selling pressure in the opening minutes, slipping sharply below the 25,500 zone amid a strong selloff in IT stocks. The index attempted a mild recovery of 60-70 points from 25,460 levels, but lacked follow-through buying. By late morning, weakness resurfaced, and Nifty gradually drifted lower, breaching 25,450 around noon.
In the second half, selling intensified further, dragging the index to intraday lows near the 25,330–25,340 zone around 1:30 PM. However, a steady rebound unfolded post that, with Nifty recovering gradually and reclaiming the 25,400–25,450 range after facing volatility in between, and Nifty eventually closed at 25,424.65, marking a volatile session characterised by early weakness and a second-half recovery from lows.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global risk appetite, newsflow around AI disruption, and key domestic cues.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had a weak session today. Of the 3,270 stocks that traded on the NSE, 1,068 advanced, 2,101 declined, and 101 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty Metal was the top gainer today, rising 0.93%, while Nifty IT was the top loser, plunging 4.74%. Overall, 5 sectors closed in green, and 7 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 2nd March:
The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,500, followed by 25,800 & 25,700, indicating potential resistance at the 25,600 -25,700 levels.
The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,000, followed by 25,500, suggesting support at 25,300-25,200.
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 firmed around 90.9 per dollar as optimism over large state-run IPOs and a high-profile Canada visit buoyed sentiment, while the RBI’s forex strategy and record $725.7 billion reserves are seen cushioning volatility. Dive deeper
Indian government bonds traded in a narrow range with light volumes as market participants stayed cautious ahead of a key state borrowing auction and heavy supply, while softer U.S. Treasury yields provided some support. Dive deeper
India plans to raise ₹1.79 trillion ($20 billion) through IPOs of state-run firms by FY30 across sectors including railways, power, oil & gas, aviation and coal, as part of its broader asset monetisation strategy. Dive deeper
Suzlon appointed Ajay Kapur as Group CEO and elevated JP Chalasani to the Group Executive Council as it transitions into a full-stack renewable energy conglomerate. Dive deeper
Textile shares fell after the government cut RoDTEP export duty benefits by 50%, sparking concerns over margin pressure and global competitiveness for exporters. Dive deeper
Centum secured a ₹668 crore HAL order to design and develop an AESA radar for the Utility Helicopter – Maritime programme, boosting naval surveillance capabilities. Dive deeper
Real estate stocks declined amid heavy IT sector selling, as AI disruption fears raised concerns about office demand and urban housing absorption. Dive deeper
India’s tech industry revenue is projected to grow 6.1% to $315 billion in FY26, with the workforce rising to 5.95 million. AI-led solutions contribute $10–12 billion to sector revenues, according to Nasscom. Dive deeper
Bharti Airtel shares fell over 2.5% after the company announced plans to invest ₹20,000 crore to scale up its newly-licensed NBFC arm, Airtel Money, marking a strategic push into financial services. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
IBM shares plunged 13.2%, marking their sharpest one-day fall in over 25 years, after Anthropic said its Claude Code tool could modernize legacy languages running on IBM systems. The announcement fueled fears of disruption to IBM’s core mainframe business. Dive deeper
President Trump warned nations against backing out of newly negotiated trade deals after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs. He signaled the possibility of higher duties or license fees under alternate laws, heightening global market uncertainty. Dive deeper
Brent crude hovered near $71.5 per barrel, close to a six-month high, as markets tracked renewed US-Iran talks alongside geopolitical tensions and ongoing supply disruptions. Dive deeper
Gold declined 1% to around $5,170 per ounce after four sessions of gains, as investors booked profits amid renewed trade tensions following the rollout of a 10% US tariff and the prospect of higher duties. Dive deeper
Copper futures rose nearly 2% toward $5.9 per pound as Chinese traders returned from holidays and optimism grew over potentially lower US tariffs after a court ruling against reciprocal levies. Dive deeper
China’s central bank kept its one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.0% and 3.5% for a ninth straight month, signalling a cautious approach to broad monetary easing. Dive deeper
Nvidia is expected to report strong quarterly results and upbeat guidance, driven by sustained AI infrastructure demand, rising data centre spending and higher shipments of next-generation Blackwell chips. 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.
Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and MD of ITC, on R&D, AI & Premiumization:
"Investment in R&D is critical. India’s R&D intensity is historically low, but at ITC, it is core to our strategy. The ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre is among the largest private sector innovation hubs after CSIR."
"AI tools help shortlist optimal product formulations in hours rather than months. AI is integral to FMCG success.'
“India is an aspirational society. Premium products sell deeply across rural India.I think the rural market should naturally be growing faster than urban, because that is where there is a lot of opportunity. It is a relatively underserved market compared to urban India... That is actually a healthy sign of India’s economic progress.” - Link
C Vijayakumar, CEO & MD of HCLTech, on the AI-related transition :
“I think the industry is going to reinvent itself. This time the inflexion is really making a lot of what we do or people do can be done a lot more efficiently and with significant speed. I think this transition is different from other transitions. It will be painful as it involves people but there is a promising road ahead.”
“There are multiple stacks — semiconductor and OEM players, hyperscalers, SaaS firms, the frontier companies and then the services players. I think the bigger value will get created in the long run from frontier model companies and services providers because service providers have the most enterprise context.” - 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!