Indian shares look set to open on a sluggish note Monday, tracking weakness across Asia as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dragged on with little progress in negotiations.
Investors will also monitor the latest Covid-19 developments, with China deciding to lock most of its largest city of Shanghai due to record Covid-19 cases.
Airline stocks could be in focus today as the Indian skies opened for scheduled international flight. Energy stocks may also see increase activity as oil prices plunged around $4 per barrel in Asian trade on concerns over slower fuel demand in China.
Trading volumes are likely to remain thin after a joint forum of trade unions across India called for a two-day Bharat Bandh starting today to protest against the policies of the Modi government.
The direction of rupee, macroeconomic data and Thursday’s F&O expiry may affect market sentiment as the week progresses.
Asian markets fell broadly this morning and oil prices tumbled on concerns that the coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai could hit global economic activity.
Investors await the outcome of the Russian-Ukranian peace talks to be held in Turkey this week after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a deal.
After U.S. President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “butcher”, French President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm and restraint in both, words and action, in handling the Ukraine conflict.
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday after the release of disappointing housing and consumer sentiment data.
The Dow edged up 0.4 percent and the S&P 500 added half a percent as investors looked past increasingly hawkish commentary from Fed officials and reports of a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco facility. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2 percent.
European stocks ended Friday’s session on a firm note after the U.S. and the European Union signed an agreement for the supply of liquefied natural gas to reduce reliance on Russian supply.
The pan European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.1 percent. The German DAX and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 both inched up around 0.2 percent while France’s CAC 40 index ended flat with a negative bias.
Market Analysis
Sensex, Nifty Seen Lower Amid China Covid Curbs
2022-03-28 02:29:32
