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March 2026 — Market Letter 003

Broken market. Risk off.

Nifty suffered a severe drawdown as crude surged, foreign capital exited and market structure deteriorated across the board.

DefensiveBroken StructureMINIMAL EXPOSURE
Letter 003 · Published 31 March 2026 · 2 min read
Market Snapshot
NIFTY 5022,331.40 -11.31% MTD -14.54% YTDBreaking down
GOLD₹1,46,730 / 10g -7.15% MTD +9.01% YTDVolatile
SILVER₹2,30,135 / kg -11.71% MTD -0.94% YTDUnder pressure
CRUDE$118.35 / bbl +63.29% MTD +94.49% YTDExtreme surge
USD/INR~94.83 +4.10% MTD +5.50% YTDINR weaker
Market Health
Trend

Deteriorated

Primary structure broke down

Breadth

Very Narrow

Participation collapsed

Leadership

Very Concentrated

No dependable leadership

Breakout Quality

Poor

Follow-through unreliable

Volatility

High

Macro shocks dominated

Overall

Defensive

Protect capital

What Changed
FebruaryMarch
TrendIntactDeteriorated
BreadthMixedVery Narrow
LeadershipConcentratedVery Concentrated
Breakout QualityFairPoor
VolatilityCalmHigh

VSC posture: Normal Minimal

A stable consolidation broke into broad deterioration as volatility surged, leadership disappeared and preserving capital became the priority.

What Happened
Index

The market moved from weakness into breakdown.

Nifty suffered a severe monthly decline and market structure deteriorated decisively.

Breadth

Weakness spread across the market.

The selloff was not confined to isolated sectors; broader participation deteriorated alongside the headline index.

Leadership

There was little dependable leadership to trade.

Isolated strength could not offset deterioration across the market, leaving very few high-conviction opportunities.

Flows / Risk

War, crude and foreign selling became the market.

Surging crude, geopolitical risk, rupee pressure and foreign outflows dominated the trading environment.

VSC View
DefensiveVery NarrowPoor setups
PositioningMinimal exposure · Minimal sizing
PreferredWait for stability
AvoidBreakouts and forced trades
Increase risk whenStructure + volatility improve

The first failed trade confirmed what the broader market evidence was already showing: this was not an environment in which risk needed to be pressed.

VSC — March
-0%
Monthly Return
0
Trades
MinimalExposure

Worked: Treating the first loss as market feedback and cutting exposure before a difficult month could become a damaging one.

Didn't: The single trade failed as breakout and momentum conditions deteriorated.

Lesson: You do not need to trade every day — or every month — to make money. Avoiding unnecessary drawdowns is part of the process.

Looking into April
If volatility declinesreassess opportunities
If crude begins coolingreduce macro pressure
If breadth starts recoveringparticipate selectively
If foreign selling moderatesimprove risk assessment
If USD/INR stabilisesbecome less defensive

Current stance: Keep exposure minimal until the market provides evidence that conditions are improving.