The week gone by was wild, volatile, topsy-turvy, unpredictable, burned both bulls and bears and the worst, left all confused and worrisome. The US-Israel-Iran war has entered its fourth week and the only loser as of today is the common man. Energy security is the worst thing that could have happened and we are sitting a few meters away from the current war spreading globally. USA President Donald Trump seems to be changing his mind at the drop of a hat and is totally confused, a situation which can boomerang when you are up against someone as deadly as Iran. What do the last six trading days for financial year 2026 have in store for all of us, is anybody’s guess. The only thing clear at this point of time is that this has been a bad year and even the change from this year to the next is not going to matter. 

BSESENSEX lost 30.96 points or 0.04% to close at 74,532.96 points while NIFTY lost 36.60 points or 0.16% to close at 23,114.50 points. BANKNIFTY lost 330.80 points or 0.62% to close at 53,427.05 points. The broader markets saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lose 0.22%, 0.26% and 0.28% respectively. BSEMIDCAP lost 0.04% while BSESMALLCAP gained 0.13%. The top sectorial gainer was BSEAUTO which was up 1.56% while the top loser was BSEOIL&GAS which lost 3.30%. 

The weekly statistics do not convey the volatility that markets witnessed and experienced. After a massive 4,354 points fall on the BSESENSEX and 1,299 points on NIFTY in the previous week, markets gained an impressive 50% or thereabouts on the next three days. The highs made were 74,563.92 points on BSESENSEX and 23,862.25 points on NIFTY. From there on Thursday, all hell was let loose and we slipped to levels which were even lower than that of Friday week. These levels were at 74,207 points on BSESENSEX and at 23,002 on NIFTY. A small recovery on Friday was not enough for markets to end the week in positive territory. Our markets lost on just one session in the week and gained on four sessions. 

The Indian Rupee was under big pressure and lost Rs 1.20 or 1.30% to close at Rs 93.78 to the US Dollar. Dow Jones lost 981 points or 2.11% to close at 45,577.47 points. Dow lost on three of the five trading sessions and gained on two. 

In primary market news we had one listing last week from Rajputana Stainless Limited which had issued shares at Rs 122. Shares listed on Thursday the 19th of March. They closed at Rs 112.90, a loss of Rs 9.10. They recovered marginally on Friday to close at Rs 113.30, a loss of Rs 8.70 or 7.13%. 

The week ahead will see the listing of three issues. These would happen on Monday and Tuesday. The issue from Innovision Limited would list on Monday the 23rd of March while the issues from Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust and GSP Crop Science Limited would happen on Tuesday the 24th of March. 

There is one mainboard IPO which has opened on Friday and would close on Tuesday the 24th of March. The issue is from Coal India Limited subsidiary, CMPDI (Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited). The price band is Rs 163-172 and the issue is entirely an offer for sale. The company would be raising Rs 1,842 crores. The company is a near monopoly and offers survey for mines, mine planning and offers a detailed mine closure scheme for mines where resources have been extracted. It has been working for coal and allied minerals and has also been entrusted with rare earth minerals as the central agency. 

The remaining three issues would open on Tuesday the 24th of March and close on Friday the 27th of March. The first of these is from Powerica Limited which is into the assembly, supply and installation of standby generators and alternators for varied applications. It also has a renewable power division which owns wind assets and acts as an IPP and EPC contractor. The price band of the issue is Rs375-395. The issue consists of a fresh issue of Rs 700 crores and an offer for sale of Rs 400 crores. 

The second issue is from Sai Parentals Limited which is a fresh issue of Rs 285 crores and an offer for sale of Rs 123.79 crores in a price band of Rs 372-392. 

The third and final issue is from rice processor and exporter, Amir Chand Jagdish Kumar (Exports) limited which consists of a fresh issue of Rs 440 crores in a price band of Rs 201-212. The company is a processor of rice having two plants in Punjab and Haryana. It sells about 35% of its produce in exports and 65% domestically. In terms of capacity utilization it is currently 50% having improved from 37% in the previous year. It expects to do better as it raises capital for working capital. It has also entered the FMCG segment to take advantage of its dealer network. 

Market conditions are quite choppy and uncertain. We have a mere six trading sessions before the financial year ends and no clarity on what will happen in the Middle East. As far as the four new IPOs are concerned there must be a compelling reason for one to subscribe in these trying times. If one were to ask me, I would like to wait out this period and look at these issues when they list, even if it means buying at higher prices. 

Coming to the markets in the coming week, new levels were shown on the downside along with accelerated speed and turmoil. For the current week, immediate support exists at 22,500-22,700 points on NIFTY. On the lower side we have support at 22,150-22,200 points. Immediate resistance exists at 23,300-23,400 points and if this were to break at 23,800 points. The strategy would be to keep it simple. Look for trading opportunities to buy on sharp dips and sell on rallies intraday with no overnight positions. Please remember we have a trading holiday on Thursday the 26th of March and the fact that mid-week holidays break market momentum. 

Finally besides trading cautiously it’s time to keep one’s fingers crossed and hope that Trump has clarity in what he wants to do.

Markets last week seemed to just melt and gave way. They lost on four of the five trading sessions and managed to gain on one. While it may not sound nice, Friday the 13th, spooked markets once again. The loss on Friday was 1,470 points on BSESENSEX and 488 points on NIFTY. The weekly losses were even higher with BSESENSEX losing 4,354.98 points or 5.52% to close at 74,563.92 points while NIFTY lost 1,299.35 points or 5.31% to close at 23,151.10 points. BANKNIFTY lost 4,025.40 points or 6.97% to close at 53,757.85 points. The broader indices saw BSE100, BSE200 and BSE500 lose 5.21%, 5.06% and 4.87% respectively. BSEMIDCAP lost 4.48% while BSESMALLCAP lost 3.66%. While IT stocks took a breather this time around, the top loser was BSEAUTO which was down 9.95%. 

The Indian Rupee weakened and lost 78 paisa or 0.85% to close at Rs 92.58 to the US Dollar. Dow Jones lost on four of the five trading sessions and gained on one. It was down 943.08 points or 1.99% to close at 46,558.47 points. 

The primary markets saw one listing during the week. Shares of Sedemac Mechatronics Limited which were issued at Rs 1,352 listed on Wednesday the 11th of March. They debuted at Rs 1,510 and closed at Rs 1,432.10, a gain of Rs 80.10 for the day. At the end of the week, the share price gained marginally to close at Rs 1,462.80, a gain of Rs 130.80 or 8.20%. 

There are two issues currently open but they are struggling. The first is from Innovision Limited. The issue was open from 10th of March to 12th of March. On not receiving adequate response, the issue was extended to now close on 17th of March. The issue continues to struggle.

The second was from Rajputana Stainless Limited and was open from 9th of March to 11th of March. The issue was struggling but managed to get subscribed. SEBI has come down hard on the company for two violations. Firstly, there anchor allocation was wrong as there was only one anchor against the mandatory minimum two required. Hence that has been cancelled. This involves 8,19,720 shares which would be added back to the subscription size. Secondly, they have solicited subscription for which they now have to give a withdrawal option for three days until Monday the 16th of March. There has been withdrawal of 2.22 lac shares so far and this has brought the subscription to below the minimum required. What would happen will be known only on close of the issue on Monday. Very clearly bad signs for the markets and worsens the poor sentiment prevailing in the market place. 

The INVIT from NHAI, Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust Limited received excellent response and was well subscribed. The issue was oversubscribed 12.65 times. 

The Israel-US war against Iran has entered the third week and seems there is no resolution so far. While Iran has offered to talk, US is not ready as they believe that Iran is already ‘CRIPPLED’. A new statement has come from Trump which says that countries moving oil from the Strait of Hormuz should send there own ships to protect the crude. Iran on the other hand is willing to allow movement of crude if payment of same is made in Yuan. Reminds one of how the USA and the US Dollar came on the global front in 1974 with Saudi oil pricing in USD. Tough times ahead and the whole world will pay for what Trump is doing. 

Coming to markets, key support levels have been broken mercilessly and we are looking at tough times ahead. New support levels exist at 23,000 and further down around 22,800 points. On the resistance side we have levels of 23,800 and higher up at 24,300-24,500 points. In the current scenario selling at these levels may not be a good strategy. Similarly buying is also fraught with high degree of risk. The fact that FPIs have already sold over Rs 50,000 crores of shares in the current month, makes market liquidity that much more worrisome. The best strategy would be to lie low till the end of the month by which time there would be clarity on a number of issues. 

Trade cautiously.