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Benchmarks end passing week flat with negative bias amid global uncertainty
Mar-20-2026

Indian benchmarks ended the passing week flat with negative bias. Foreign fund outflows and sharp rise in crude oil prices weighed on the markets. However, Iran’s decision to allow ships from all countries, except the US and Israel, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, along with optimism over a possible de-escalation of the US-Iran conflict, helped to cap the losses.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

India sees marginal dip in merchandise exports in February: The commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports slipped marginally by 0.81 per cent to $36.61 billion in February 2026 as compared to $36.91 billion in the same month last year.

India's WPI inflation sees rise in February: India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation accelerated in the month of February 2026 at 2.13 per cent as compared to 1.81 per cent in January 2026, driven by higher prices of crude petroleum & natural gas and non- food articles.

Unemployment rate falls marginally to 4.9% in February: Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation in its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has showed that overall unemployment rate among persons aged 15 years and above fell marginally to 4.9% in February from 5% in January this year.

Net direct tax collection grows 7.1% to Rs 22.8 lakh crore till March 17 in FY26: Income Tax Department in its latest data has showed that the net direct tax collection grew 7.1 per cent to about Rs 22.8 lakh crore till March 17 this fiscal (FY26) due to slower refunds and higher corporate tax mop-up.

India’s outward FDI commitments see 35.88% dip in February: The RBI data has showed that India's outward foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments declined by 35.88% to $2,758.90 million in February 2026 as against $4,302.70 million in February 2025, impacted by fall in equity investments.

BSE movement for the week

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex marginally decreased by 30.96 points, or 0.04%, to 74,532.96 during the week ended March 20, 2026. On the sectoral front, S&P BSE Oil & Gas was down by 886.72 points or 3.30% to 25,977.38, S&P BSE Realty was down by 103.44 points or 1.87% to 5,417.77, and S&P BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods was down by 252.85 points or 1.44% to 17,320.21 were the top losers, while S&P BSE Auto was up by 840.92 points or 1.56% to 54,717.71, S&P BSE Metal was up by 439.48 points or 1.18% to 37,708.20, and S&P BSE Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services was up by 96.47 points or 1.15% to 8,519.65 were the top gainers on the BSE sectoral front.

NSE movement for the week

The Nifty decreased 36.60 points or 0.16% to 23,114.50. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Nifty Next 50 lost 829.15 points or 1.28% to 63,862.30 and Bank Nifty was down by 330.80 points or 0.62% to 53,427.05, while Nifty IT was up by 128.35 points or 0.44% to 29,199.60 and Nifty Mid Cap 100 increased 94.40 points or 0.17% to 54,855.50.

FII transactions during the week

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in equity segment in the week, with gross purchases of Rs 60,896.29 crore and gross sales of Rs 96,372.28 crore, leading to a net outflow of Rs 35,475.99 crore. They also stood as net sellers in the debt segment with gross purchases of Rs 6,637.55 crore against gross sales of Rs 14,018.92 crore, resulting in a net outflow of Rs 7,381.37 crore. In hybrid segment, FIIs stood as net buyers, with gross purchases of Rs 332.88 crore and gross sales of Rs 256.19 crore, leading to a net inflow of Rs 76.69 crore.

Industry and Economy

Despite the ongoing conflict between Iran-US and Israel, Fitch Ratings in its Global Economic Outlook- March 2026 has raised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast marginally to 7.5 per cent for current fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) from 7.4 per cent projected earlier in December 2025. The upward revision in growth estimation attributed to domestic demand, which will be the biggest growth driver this year, with consumer spending and investment rising by (an estimated) 8.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent in the current fiscal year. Similarly, the ratings agency has revised upwards its growth estimate for FY27 to 6.7 per cent, from 6.4 per cent projected in December 2025. 

Outlook for the coming week

Indian markets ended the passing week marginally in red weighed down by persistent foreign fund outflows and escalating West Asian geopolitical tensions.

On the economy data front, investors will be eyeing HSBC Composite PMI Flash, HSBC Manufacturing PMI Flash, and HSBC Services PMI Flash data which are going to be out on March 24, Industrial Production data which is scheduled to be release on March 28.

On the global front, investors will be eyeing macro-economic reports from world’s largest economy, United States, starting with Chicago Fed National Activity Index on March 23 followed by S&P Global Composite PMI Flash, S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Flash and S&P Global Services PMI Flash on March 24, Export Prices and Import Prices on March 25, Initial Jobless Claims on March 26, Fed Balance Sheet, Michigan Consumer Sentiment Final and Baker Hughes Oil Rig Count on March 27.

Top Gainers 

  • Eternal up by 5.03% was the top gainer on Nifty for the week - Eternal traded higher as investors opted to pick up the shares at lower level following the recent pullback made by the stock. The stock has corrected recently amid concerns around leadership changes and highly competitive intensity in quick commerce space.
  • Tech Mahindra up by 2.59% was another top gainer on Nifty for the week - Tech Mahindra traded higher along with other IT sector stocks, driven by some value buying following recent pull back in the sector. Besides, Accenture’s second quarter results indicated a steady growth outlook led by artificial intelligence-driven demand, which raised optimism about growth prospects of Indian IT industry.

Top Losers 

  • Hindalco Industries by 9.85% was the top loser of the week on Nifty - Hindalco came under pressure along with other metal stocks amid weakness in global metal prices, combined with a stronger US dollar and rising energy costs. The tensions in West Asia have spiked up the energy prices and market participants worry that the high cost could impact the upcoming quarterly numbers.
  • Shriram Finance down by 9.02% was another top loser of the week on Nifty - Some of the Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) stocks including Shriram Finance came under pressure as investors took a cautious stance after some reports indicated that the Reserve Bank of India could extend leadership rotation rules to the large NBFCs.

Technical viewpoints

During the week, CNX Nifty touched the highest level of 23,862.25 on March 18 and lowest level of 22,930.35 on March 19. On the last trading day, the Nifty closed at 23,114.50 with weekly loss of 36.60 points or 0.16 percent. For the coming week, 22,742.48 followed by 22,370.47 are likely to be good support levels for the Nifty, while the index may face resistance at 23,674.38 and further at 24,234.27 levels.

US Market

The U.S. markets traded lower during the week after Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and projected higher inflation, steady unemployment and a single reduction in borrowing costs this year. The Fed maintained policy rate in 3.50%-3.75% range.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

U.S. leading economic index edges modestly lower in January: The Conference Board said its leading economic index edged down by 0.1 percent in January after dipping by 0.2 percent in December.

Wholesale inventories in U.S. fall 0.5% in January: Wholesale inventories fell by 0.5 percent in January following a revised 0.1 percent dip in December.

U.S. new home sales plunge in January: New home sales plunged by 17.6 percent to an annual rate of 587,000 in January after tumbling by 6.8 percent to a revised rate of 712,000 in December.

Producer prices in U.S. climb in February: The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand advanced by 0.7 percent in February after climbing by 0.5 percent in January. 

Weekly initial jobless claims in U.S. fall in the week ended March 14: Initial jobless claims fell to 205,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 213,000.

European Market

European markets witnessed lackluster performance during the passing week, mirroring the trend seen across global markets, following deepening crisis in the Middle East following missile strikes at critical energy infrastructure in the region.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

ECB holds rates steady: The Governing Council, led by the European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, left the benchmark interest rate - the deposit rate, steady at 2 percent.

Bank of England stands pat on rate: The Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Andrew Bailey, voted unanimously to maintain Bank Rate at 3.75 percent.

Eurozone inflation rises as estimated in February: The harmonized index of consumer prices registered an annual increase of 1.9 percent after rising 1.7 percent in January. 

German economic confidence plunges amid escalating Middle East tension: The investor sentiment index declined to -0.5 in March from +58.3 in February. 

Italy inflation rises less than estimated: Consumer price inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent in February from January's 1.0 percent. In the flash estimate, the increase was 1.6 percent.

Asian Market

Asian markets traded mostly higher during the passing week as easing oil prices helped calm investor concerns even as geopolitical tensions in Middle East intensified.

Some of the major developments during the week are:

Japan logs trade surplus in February: Japan posted a seasonally adjusted merchandise trade surplus of 57.296 billion yen in February. That exceeded expectations for a deficit of 485.0 billion yen. 

Japan’s industrial output grows in January: Japan’s industrial production rose 4.3% M-o-M in January 2026, topping flash data of a 2.2% gain and notably accelerating from an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in the previous month.

China keeps key lending rates unchanged: The People’s Bank of China kept its key lending rates unchanged at record lows for a 10th straight month in March 2026. The 1-year LPR was held at 3.0%, while the 5-year LPR remained at 3.5%.

Hong Kong's jobless rate falls to 3.8%: Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged down to 3.8% in the three months ending February 2026, from a 2022-high of 3.9% in the previous period.

South Korea's export prices rise most since Mid-2024: South Korea’s export prices rose 10.7% from a year earlier in February 2026, following a downwardly revised 7.8% increase in January and marking the sharpest rise since June 2024.
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