Markets Find Support After January Slide, Focus Shifts to Union Budget

Indian equity markets witnessed heightened volatility over the past week, following a sharp correction after Nifty touched record highs of 26,373 in early January. The benchmark index saw a largely one-sided decline leading up to Republic Day, reflecting profit-taking and risk-off sentiment. However, post the announcement around the India–EU Free Trade Agreement, markets showed signs of resilience, with Nifty gaining 1.09% or 269 points over the week.Sectorally, Oil & Gas, Energy, Defence and Metals emerged as key outperformers. That said, metal stocks surrendered a large part of their gains on the final trading day amid sharp volatility in global commodities. Silver corrected nearly 5% from its weekly peak after surging about 17%, while gold closed with a modest 1% weekly gain despite hitting a high of nearly 12% earlier in the week.Going ahead, market direction is likely to be driven by policy cues from the Union Budget on 1st February, which will be crucial in shaping near-term investor sentiment.

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