Indian equity benchmarks are expected to open on a negative note in a holiday-shortened week due to weak global cues and continued foreign fund outflows. Key concerns include persistent US inflation, new tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump, reports of a new bat-linked coronavirus in China, and an unexpected attack by Russia on Ukraine.

Key Market Factors to Watch:

🔹 Foreign Fund Outflows: Foreign investors have withdrawn over Rs 23,710 crore from Indian equity markets this month, pushing total outflows past Rs 1 trillion in 2025 amid escalating global trade tensions.

🔹 Forex Reserves Decline: India's forex reserves fell by $2.54 billion to $635.721 billion in the week ending February 14, snapping a three-week rising streak, as per RBI data.

🔹 India-UK FTA Talks Resume: After over eight months, India and the UK will restart negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) from February 24.

🔹 Banking Stocks in Focus: RBI data shows a slowdown in bank credit and deposits during the October-December quarter.

🔹 Coal Industry Update: A private report indicates that India's coal imports remained flat at 201.30 million tonnes (MT) during April-December in the current fiscal year.

Global & Domestic Market Trends:

🔸 US & Asian Markets: US stock markets ended lower on Friday due to disappointing economic data pointing to a slowing economy and persistent inflation. Asian markets are mostly in the red on Monday following Wall Street’s worst session of the year.

🔸 Indian Stock Market Performance: On Friday, Indian markets closed lower due to sustained foreign fund outflows.

• BSE Sensex fell 424.90 points (0.56%) to 75,311.06
• NSE Nifty dropped 117.25 points (0.51%) to 22,795.90

Key Economic Indicators for Today:

📉 India’s GDP Growth to Slow: Moody’s Analytics forecasts India’s GDP growth to slow to 6.4% in 2025, down from 6.6% in 2024, due to new US tariffs and softening global demand impacting exports.

📉 US Treasury Yields: Treasury yields edged lower as investors await more economic data and assess the impact of Federal Reserve's comments on inflation and tariffs.

📈 India’s Private Sector Growth at 6-Month High: The HSBC Flash India PMI report showed private sector activity surged to a 6-month high, with the PMI output rising to 60.6 in February.

Stay tuned for more updates on market trends and economic developments! 🚀