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 explore Week 2 of 2026, where the year started on a shaky note as Indian markets reversed sharply after fresh all-time highs just a week earlier. Rising global tariff tensions—particularly around the US trade stance—hit sentiment hard, leading to a broad-based sell-off, broken support levels, a pickup in volatility, and a sharp expansion in option premiums.
In this episode, we break down price action across NIFTY, SENSEX, and BANKNIFTY across timeframes, examine ranges and open interest positioning, track the volatility spike, review sector and commodity performance, and discuss what this sudden regime shift means for traders and investors heading into the coming week.
Market Overview
Nifty opened flat at 25,669 but came under pressure in the opening hour, slipping quickly toward the 25,550–25,570 zone amid cautious sentiment and negative global cues, driven by rising tensions between the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve. After a brief phase of consolidation, selling intensified through the late morning session, dragging the index to an intraday low near the 25,480–25,500 area just before noon.
However, the second half saw a sharp and decisive turnaround. Strong buying emerged post 12 PM, triggering a swift rebound that pushed Nifty back above 25,600 and then 25,700 within 30 minutes, as positive commentary, including news of fresh trade talks expected tomorrow from U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, helped lift sentiment. The recovery gathered momentum through the afternoon, with the index steadily reclaiming key levels. In the final hour, Nifty extended gains further and closed near the day’s high at 25,790.25, marking a strong comeback from intraday lows and a clear shift in sentiment driven by aggressive dip buying.
Looking ahead, markets are likely to remain sensitive to global risk appetite, the onset of the Q3 earnings season, and further developments around India–U.S. trade negotiations.
Broader Market Performance:
The broader market had weak market breadth today despite a strong recovery in the second half. Out of 3,237 stocks that traded on the NSE, 1,247 advanced, while 1,891 declined, and 99 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Performance:
Nifty Metal was the top gainer, rising 1.99%, while Nifty Media was the top loser, falling 1.55%. Out of the 11 sectoral indices, 6 ended in the green and 6 closed in the red, indicating a mixed sectoral breadth.
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 13th January:
- The maximum Call Open Interest (OI) is observed at 26,000, followed by 26,300, indicating potential resistance at the 25,900 -26,000 levels.
- The maximum Put Open Interest (OI) is observed at 25,500, followed by 25,700, suggesting support at the 25,600 to 25,500 levels.
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
India’s consumer price inflation rose to 1.33% in December 2025 from 0.71% in November, driven by a smaller decline in food prices, while housing and fuel inflation eased, and monthly CPI edged up 0.05%. Dive deeper
The Indian rupee slipped to around 90.2 per dollar as foreign outflows, heavy government borrowing and global policy tensions continued to pressure the currency. Dive deeper
TCS reported a 13.9% drop in Q3 net profit to ₹10,657 crore, while revenue rose 4.9% to ₹67,087 crore and operating margin remained steady at 25.2%. The company said growth momentum continued, with AI revenues rising over 17% to $1.8 billion and new deal wins of $9.3 billion for the quarter. Dive deeper
HCL Technologies reported an 11% YoY decline in Q3 net profit to ₹4,076 crore, while revenue grew 13% to ₹33,872 crore, and the company declared an interim dividend of ₹12 per share. Dive deeper
Retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 1.33% in December 2025, still below the RBI’s lower comfort level of 2%, helped by a broad-based decline in prices. Food and beverages remained in contraction, while inflation in housing, clothing, and fuel categories eased marginally during the month. Dive deeper
Maruti Suzuki’s board approved land acquisition and preparatory spending of ₹4,960 crore for its second plant in Sanand, Gujarat, as part of a new facility with up to 10 lakh units annual capacity. The plant will be developed in phases and is targeted to become operational by FY29. Dive deeper
Vodafone Idea received a four-year deferment on its AGR dues, providing temporary relief but leaving concerns over debt, losses, and funding visibility unresolved. Dive deeper
NSE plans to file its draft prospectus for a long-awaited IPO by the end of March, with early discussions underway with bankers and legal advisers pending SEBI’s no-objection. Dive deeper
India’s ₹1.95 trillion IPO surge in 2025 generated $417 million in underwriting fees for investment banks, with average fees rising to 1.86% as strong listing activity boosted bankers’ pricing power. Dive deeper
IREDA reported a 15.4% YoY rise in Q3 net profit to ₹1,381 crore and a 28.2% increase in revenue to ₹6,041.8 crore. Dive deeper
SoftBank trimmed its stake in Ola Electric to 13.53% after selling about 94.6 million shares between September 2025 and January 2026. Dive deeper
Indian PM Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met in Gandhinagar to deepen economic and security ties, signing agreements across defence, skills, health, and education. Germany remains India’s top EU trading partner, with both sides pushing new cooperation in climate action, energy, rare earths, and joint defence manufacturing. Dive deeper
What’s happening globally
Brent crude slipped toward $63 per barrel as the prospect of Venezuelan oil exports outweighed supply concerns from escalating unrest in Iran. Dive deeper
Gold climbed above $4,590 per ounce to a record high as concerns over Fed independence, geopolitical tensions, and expectations of US rate cuts boosted safe-haven demand. Dive deeper
The dollar index slipped to around 98.9 as a criminal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell and weaker US jobs data weighed on confidence in monetary policy. Dive deeper
Malaysian palm oil futures rose to about MYR 4,090 per tonne as lower December output and stronger early-January exports lifted demand expectations. Dive deeper
Denmark’s inflation eased to 1.9% in December 2025, with monthly prices falling 0.4% and core inflation edging down to 2.2%. Dive deeper
European natural gas prices rose above €29/MWh as colder weather risks, lower EU storage levels and rising geopolitical tensions around LNG supply lifted concerns over winter availability. Dive deeper
Elon Musk’s X sued major music publishers and the National Music Publishers’ Association, alleging they colluded to block individual licensing deals and force the platform to accept inflated industrywide terms. Dive deeper
The Trump administration is threatening legal action against Fed Chair Jerome Powell over large cost overruns in the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation project. 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.
Sergio Gor, United States Ambassador to India, on trade progress and the US-India relationship
“In fact, the next call on trade will occur tomorrow. Remember, India is the world’s largest nation, so it’s not an easy task to get this across the finish line, but we are determined to get there, and while trade is very important for our relationship, we will continue to work closely together on other very important areas, such as security, counterterrorism, energy, technology, education and health,”
“The United States and India are bound not just by shared interest, but by a relationship anchored at the highest levels. Real friends can disagree, but always resolve their differences” - Link
K Krithivasan, CEO & MD of TCS, on Q3 results
“The growth momentum we witnessed in Q2FY26 continued in Q3FY26. We remain steadfast in our ambition to become the world’s largest AI-led technology services company, guided by a comprehensive five-pillar strategy. Our AI services now generate $1.8 billion in annualized revenue, reflecting the significant value we provide to clients through targeted investments across the entire AI stack, from Infrastructure to Intelligence.” - Link
Karan Adani on Adani Group’s Kutch investment
“The Adani Group will invest ₹1.5 lakh crore in the Kutch region of Gujarat over the next five years, with a focus on renewable energy, port infrastructure and allied industrial projects.”- Link
Jerome Powell on the White House and the Fed
“On Friday, the Department of Justice served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, threatening a criminal indictment related to my testimony before the Senate Banking Committee last June.”
“This is a pretext aimed at putting further pressure on the central bank to lower interest rates.”
“I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy.”
“No one certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve is above the law.” - 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, quarterly results, 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!