It was a welcome rally for the markets this week, with the benchmark indices rallying a good 2 per cent in trade. However, there continued to be immense volatility on the back of trade tensions between the US and China.

The index had soared almost 578 points in the previous session after the RBI kept the policy rate unchanged but said growth will rebound this fiscal amid softening inflation.

On a weekly basis, the BSE Sensex scored a smart gain of 658.29 points, or 1.99 per cent while the NSE Nifty rose 217.90 points, or 2.15 per cent.

Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities to the tune of Rs 615.28 crore on Friday, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 108.02 crore, according to provisional data.

Bharti Airtel was the worst performer during the week and on Friday along the stock lost as much as 2.17 per cent.

Going ahead next week, we may see volatility increase as trade tensions between US and China only increase. On Friday, the Dow Jones lost as much as 500 points and this may reflect on markets, when they open for trade on Monday.

Markets are likely to remain cautious ahead of the earnings season. Individual stocks would react to their results and beyond that one cannot expect too much. The next big trigger on the domestic front would be the elections in Karnataka to be conducted in May.

While the outcome is uncertain, most opinion polls have given the Congress a lead in the elections.

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