4-Day Market Slump: Satish Ramanathan On What’s Spooking Investors

Indian markets opened 2026 with early highs but quickly faced heavy selling pressure, with Nifty down ~200 points and Bank Nifty/IT indices sharply lower amid geopolitical tensions in Europe and South America, weekly expiry dynamics, and pre-weekend caution. JM Financial AMC CIO Satish Ramanathan views the volatility as an opportunity, noting reasonable economic momentum and improving earnings, though valuations warranted a pullback. He expects Q3 earnings to be solid and anticipates a post-Budget rally driven by domestic consumption push, possible tax reforms, and measures to attract FIIs. Precious metals continue strong on safe-haven demand. Strategy: Gradually build portfolios in volatile markets; avoid panic selling. Markets defend 25,900 on Nifty; IT down 2%.