On the screen yesterday looked calm. Nifty slipped two thirds of a percent, but 24000 held to the tick for the second day running and closed 24052, pinned between the walls. Then the official positioning dropped, and it told a different story. Episode 81 is a news podcast with a twist, and the read is simple, still a buyer of dips on this wall for a third day, but the split under the surface is exactly why the hedge stays on.

The tape first. Crude was the whole story, Brent past 86 dollars on the Hormuz standoff, and the market slipped with it, Nifty down 159 to 24052, the Sensex down 561 to 77055. But 24000 held to the tick again, the low was 24023, and the close pinned between 24000 and 24100. Under the hood it was defensive, pharma healthcare and metals the only green, while realty the public banks autos and IT were sold, HCLTech down fo ...