Stock Market Today: Nifty and Sensex eye a negative start to Tuesday’s trading

• India’s Nifty and Sensex are set to open in the red on Tuesday after a modest end on Monday.
• Nifty and Sensex refreshed record highs on Monday amid India’s growth story and the global rally.
• The focus shifts toward Fed Chair Powell and US Nonfarm Payrolls data due later this week.

The Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, India’s key benchmark indices, are expected to open on the back foot, as risk-aversion extends into Asian markets. Gifty Nifty futures are down 0.10% so far, indicating a negative start for the Indian indices.

Both Indian indices ended in the green on Monday, taking cues from mostly positive global stocks, led by Japan’s Nikkei 225 index 40,000 feat.

Nifty and Sensex continued to capitalize on robust India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data and the global stocks rally.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty 50 and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex 30 closed about 0.10% on the day near 22,400 and 73,900 respectively, having hit fresh record highs earlier in the session.

Stock market news

• The top performers on Nifty on Monday were NTPC, Power Grid, ONGC, BPCL and HGFC Life Insurance. Meanwhile, the top laggards were JSW Steel, Britannia, Eicher Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and SBI Life Insurance.
• Moody's raises India's 2024 GDP growth estimate to 6.8% from 6.1%.
• Godrej Properties shares rose 2% on plans to construct a township project in North Bengaluru with a booking value of ₹5,000.
• Suzlon, Inox Wind tanked 5% as Centre weighs reverse auctions of wind power.
• Paytm fell 3% amid speculations over Paytm Payments Bank license.
• India’s manufacturing sector climbed to a five-month high of 56.9 in February on Friday.
• The US stock markets closed higher on Friday even as business activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted at an accelerating pace in February, with the ISM Manufacturing PMI dropping to 47.8 from 49.1 in January, missing the market expectation of 49.5 by a wide margin.
• On Thursday, the key US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index increased 0.4% for the month and 2.8% from a year ago, as expected.
• Markets are currently pricing in about a 30% chance that the Fed could begin easing rates in May, slightly higher than a 20% chance a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. For the June meeting, the probability for a rate cut now stands at about 71%, up from roughly 60% seen at the start of the previous week.
• India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded by 8.4% on an annual basis in the third quarter (October-December), as against 7.6% in the previous quarter, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed Thursday.
• It’s a holiday-shortened week for the Indian markets, as they will be closed, in observance of the Mahashivratri festival on Friday.
• The main event risks for markets this week will be the US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony and the all-important US Nonfarm Payrolls data.
• Another event of note includes China's National People's Congress (NPC) meeting which could flag new stimulus measures.