Indian equity benchmarks continued their slide for the eighth straight day on Tuesday due to selling in Metal, Oil & Gas and Energy stocks amid worries over further interest rate hikes. Investors remain cautious ahead of India's GDP data for the OctoberDecember 2022 quarter (Q3FY23) to be released later in the day. After making a cautious start, markets traded marginally higher as traders took some support with Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) G C Murmu's statement that the blue economy occupies a vital position in India's economic growth and it could well be the next multiplier of GDP and wellbeing, provided sustainability and socioeconomic welfare are kept at the centre stage. However, soon markets cut initial gains and fell sharply lower in afternoon deals, as traders got anxious with ICRA Ratings' stating that India Inc's operating profit margin narrowed by a sharp 2.37% in the December quarter to 16.3% on an annual basis due to high inflation and rising energy costs. Traders were also cautious amid a private report stating that a doveturnedhawk in India's monetary policy committee said demand in the economy was leading to significant price gains and high interest rates are required to keep a lid over inflation, including the core measure. Continued foreign fund outflows also dented the market sentiment. Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 2,022.52 crore on February 27, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 326.23 points or 0.55% to 58,962.12 and the CNX Nifty was down by 88.75 points or 0.51% to 17,303.95.

The US markets ended in red on Tuesday as traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates. Traders were keeping an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims and manufacturing and service sector activity, which will be released in coming days. The data could shed additional light on the strength of the economy and provide further clues about how much the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates. On the sectoral front, Oil stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Oil Index down by 1.8 percent. The weakness in the sector came despite a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, as crude for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to $77.05 a barrel. Natural gas and pharmaceutical stocks also saw notable weakness, while steel and gold stocks moved to the upside on the day. On the economic data front, MNI Indicators released a report showing Chicago-area business activity unexpectedly contracted at a slightly faster rate in the month of February. MNI Indicators said its Chicago business barometer edged down to 43.6 in February from 44.3 in January, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction. Street had expected the Chicago business barometer to inch up to 45.0. A separate report released by the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased for the second consecutive month in February. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 102.9 in February from a downwardly revised 106.0 in January. The continued decrease surprised participants, who had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 108.5 from the 107.1 originally reported for the previous month.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Tuesday as hopes for a strong economic rebound in China offset worries about U.S. interest rate hikes dragging down consumption in the world's biggest economy. Crude oil prices are expected to rise above $90 a barrel toward the second half of 2023 as Chinese demand recovers and Russian output falls. On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended February 24th. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery surged $1.37 or 1.8 percent to 77.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for April delivery rose $1.44 or 1.75 percent to $83.89 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian Rupee ended higher against the US dollar on Tuesday ahead of the release of Q3 GDP data. Traders overlooked Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) latest data showing that banks' credit growth slowed down to 16.8 percent in the Q3 (OctoberDecember) of FY23 from 17.2 percent in the preceding quarter. In the yearago period, bank credit grew at 8.4 percent. Growth in credit was led by bank branches in metropolitan centres, which account for nearly 60 per cent of the total credit by SCBs and recorded 17.2 per cent rise (yoy) in lending; urban, semiurban and rural centres also recorded double digit credit growth. On the global front, U.S. dollar resumed its rally on Tuesday following a brief pause at the start of the week, putting it back on track to end the month with an impressive gain after a fourmonth losing streak. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.64 (Provisional), stronger by 15 paise from its previous close of 82.79 on Monday.

The FIIs as per Tuesday's data were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 4422.27 crore against gross selling of Rs 6050.78 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 233.27 crore against gross selling of Rs 293.06 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 8.18 crore against gross selling of Rs 18.23 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as more evidence of stubborn inflation added to expectations that central banks will keep rates high. Asian markets are trading in green on Wednesday as investors await a slew of key economic data across the region. Indian markets exhibited a weak trend and ended lower for the eighth straight trading session on Tuesday amid sustained selling in index heavyweights such as - Reliance, Infosys, Tata Steel and ITC. Today, the start new month is likely to be negative amid overnight losses on Wall Street coupled with weak GDP data on domestic front. data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate fell for the second consecutive quarter in October-December, coming in at 4.4%, it is lower than the 6.3% growth in the second quarter of 2022-23. Continued foreign fund outflows likely to dent domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 4,559.21 crore on February 28, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed. Traders will be concerned as a report from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed Private equity (PE) investments in India dropped 23.4% in 2022 from a year earlier. Traders may take note of India Ratings' statement that the record heat in February can lead to more rate hikes from RBI. Besides, the central government's fiscal deficit for the first 10 months of 2022-23 widened to Rs 11.91 lakh crore. At Rs 11.91 lakh crore, the fiscal deficit for April 2022-January 2023 accounts for 67.8 percent of the full-year target for 2022-23. However, some respite may come later in the day as production of eight infrastructure industries - the core sector - expanded 7.8% year-on-year (YoY) in January, its fastest pace in four months, owing to a lower base and a near all-round showing. Some support will also come as Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said high frequency data indicate buoyant economic growth momentum and the 7% GDP growth estimate for the current fiscal is very realistic. He also said that there are enough signs that manufacturing is in good health. The auto sector stocks will also be in action, reacting to their monthly sales numbers. Ratings agency Crisil said India's passenger vehicle sales are expected grow about 9%-10% in fiscal year 2024, roughly 20% above pre-pandemic peak levels, as strong demand and easing chip shortages prop-up the world's fourth-largest car market. Meanwhile, Automotive component maker Divgi TorqTransfer Systems to launch its initial public offering (IPO) and the issue will open for subscription on March 1.

                               Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Steel has raised Rs 2150 crore through allotment of 2,15,000 - 8.03% Fixed rate, Unsecured, Redeemable, Rated, Listed, NCDs having face value Rs 1 lakh each, for cash, for a tenor of 5 years, on private placement basis. 
• Infosys has rolled out Private 5G-as-a-Service to accelerate business value for its enterprise clients worldwide.
• Wipro has formed four strategic GBLs to deepen alignment to clients' evolving business needs and capitalize on emerging opportunities in high-growth segments of the market. 
• Tech Mahindra is eyeing to soon hit $7 billion revenue run rate for current fiscal year, out of which the telecom vertical is estimated to contribute $3 billion.