The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open marginally lower as indicated by the Nifty Futures traded on Singapore Exchange. The Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange also known as SGX Nifty Futures fell 0.2 per cent to 16,859.
Asian Markets
Most of the Asian markets were trading lower as surging Covid-19 cases in China further spooked investor sentiment which is already battered with ongoing war in Ukraine amid concerns of first rate hike by the US in three years. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.8 per cent, Taiwan Weighted dropped 1.5 per cent, South Korea's KOSPI declined 0.5 per cent and Shanghai Composite declined 1.25 per cent.
US Markets and Oil Prices
Stocks lost more ground, crude oil prices fell and bond yields rose sharply Monday as anxiety over the war in Ukraine and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates keep global financial markets on edge.
The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.7% lower after another choppy day of trading on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed essentially flat and the Nasdaq composite fell 2%. The pullback came as the yield on the 10-year Treasury touched its highest level since the summer of 2019.
Elsewhere around the world, markets pulled in opposing directions. European markets climbed, while stocks fell sharply in Hong Kong after the neighboring city of Shenzhen was ordered into a shutdown to combat China’s worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years. Oil prices tumbled to take some pressure off the high inflation sweeping the world, with a barrel of U.S. crude falling toward $100 after touching $130 last week, news agency AP reported.
Russia-Ukraine War: Key Things To Know About The Conflict
Russian troops refocused their efforts to seize Kyiv on Monday, firing artillery on suburbs, which have seen some of the worst conflict during Russia’s stalled attempt to take the capital. A local official said a town councilor for Brovary, east of Kyiv, was killed in fighting there.
Foreign Flows
Selling by foreign institutional investors reduced sharply on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 176 crore while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,099 crore.
Reliance Industries, Wipro, Manappuram Finance Among Shares In Focus
Reliance Industries will be in focus after it announced the acquisition of assets of cobalt-free lithium battery technology company Lithium Werks for $61 million, as it builds technology and material wherewithal for its new energy foray.
Wipro will be in focus after Speira, a leading global aluminium rolling and recycling company, has chosen Wipro as their technology partner.
Manappuram Finance will be in focus after the company informed exchanges that its board will meet on March 17 consider and approve fund raising plan.
(With inputs from agencies)
