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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
February → March
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 declines→ reassess opportunities
If crude begins cooling→ reduce macro pressure
If breadth starts recovering→ participate selectively
If foreign selling moderates→ improve risk assessment
If USD/INR stabilises→ become less defensive

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