What is your stock market trading view for Friday 25th March and do you see weekend covering of positions being Friday?

On Thursday, the indices gyrated wildly on both the sides amidst month end volatility but closed lower by about 22 points on the Nifty. The global cues have not been too favourable in terms of geopolitical situation in Ukraine and the oil prices. Banking stocks came under pressure on Thursday after Fed hinted at more aggressive rate hikes.

The breadth of the Nifty as measured by the advance / decline ratio or the A/D ratio was unfavourable at 22:27. However, on the positive side, the VIX tapered to 23.93 levels. There was a sharp rally in metal and PSU stocks but across the board, banking stocks, came under pressure after Fed hinted that the FOMC could front-end rate hikes.

Foreign investors ended up being net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs.1,741 crore even as domestic funds and LIC bought stocks worth Rs.2,091 crore on Thursday. The overall selling at over Rs.44,000 crore for March 2022 is the highest since the peak COVID period. US markets were sharply up while Europe was flat to negative. SGX Nifty is 27 bps higher.

It looks like the equity markets have once again got into an uncertain zone after the Fed spoke about front-ending rate hikes in the forthcoming meets. If 50 bps rate hike is combined with higher oil prices, then India has a problem. Rate sensitives could be under pressure in Indian markets. However, commodities could be the sector to watch out for.