Indian equity markets erased most of their gains and ended with minor gains on Monday as traders remained on sidelines ahead of the Industrial growth and retail inflation data to be out later in the week for more cues. Markets made an optimistic start as traders took support with the Confederation of Indian Industry-Business Confidence Index (CII-BCI) survey showing that business confidence improved in the first quarter of this fiscal on the back of strong fundamentals, driven by healthy domestic demand and moderating oil and commodity prices. Traders took support with report that the non-performing advances (NPAs) of banks are at multi-year lows, supported by substantial write-offs, especially for state-owned banks. The overall loan write-offs by public sector banks (PSBs) exceeded Rs 10 trillion during the FY2017-2023 period. Some support also came after the Reserve Bank of India said India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.853 billion to $595.051 billion in the week ended on June 30. However, markets erased most of their gains in late afternoon deals, amid a private report stating that funding in Indian startups fell by 36 per cent in January-June to $3.8 billion, the lowest half-yearly number in the last four years, as investors are taking longer time in due diligence of every aspect of business. Some concern also came with another private report stating that private equity (PE) investment in real estate declined 5 per cent year-on-year in April-June to $1.9 billion because of high interest rates. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 63.72 points or 0.10% to 65,344.17 and the CNX Nifty was up by 24.10 points or 0.12% to 19,355.90.

The US markets ended in green on Monday ahead of the release of closely watched data on consumer and producer price inflation later in the week. The inflation data may have a considerable impact on the outlook for interest rates following last week's mixed monthly jobs report. The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, is expected to slow to 5.0 percent from 5.3 percent. in the stock specific developments, Intel gained more than 3 percent. Amgen, Home Depot, Walgreens Boots Alliance and Honeywell International gained 2 to 2.8 percent. Caterpillar, Nike, American Express, Walmart, Merck, Cisco Systems and McDonalds also closed higher. On the economic data front, Wholesale inventories in the U.S. were roughly flat in the month of May, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories were virtually unchanged in May after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in April. Street had expected wholesale inventories to edge down by 0.1 percent, matching the dip originally reported for the previous month. The unchanged reading came as a 0.6 percent increase in inventories of durable goods offset a 1.0 percent slump in inventories of non-durable goods. Meanwhile, the report said wholesale sales slipped by 0.2 percent in May after coming in virtually unchanged in April. Sales of non-durable goods tumbled by 1.0 percent during the month, while sales of durable goods climbed by 0.8 percent.

Crude oil futures ended lower on Monday as concerns about outlook for energy demand. Fuel demand concerns resurfaced as new inflation data from China fueled concerns about deflation risks in the world's second-largest economy. China's consumer inflation was unchanged last month from a year earlier, marking the weakest rate since February 2021. Meanwhile, factory-gate prices fell further in the month, indicating weak demand in the world's largest crude importer. Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery fell $0.87 or about 1.2 percent to settle at $72.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery dropped $0.78 or 0.99 percent to settle at $77.69 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended higher against dollar on Monday, amid positive trend in domestic equities. Traders got support after Reserve Bank of India said India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.853 billion to $595.051 billion in the week ended on June 30. Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the bountiful rains in many parts of India in the first eight days of July have bridged the rainfall deficit for the entire country. On the global front, the dollar regained ground on Monday, partly recovering from a knee-jerk reaction to Friday data showing U.S. job gains were the smallest in two-and-a-half years, while disappointing inflation figures in China weighed on the yuan and proxies. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.58 (Provisional), stronger by 3 paise from its previous close of 82.61 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net buyers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 9585.39 crore against gross selling of Rs 8714.71 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 765.09 crore against gross selling of Rs 235.65 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5.32 crore against gross selling of Rs 9.67 crore.

The US markets ended higher on Monday as Federal Reserve officials' comments bolstered the view that the U.S. central bank may be near the end of its tightening cycle. Asian markets are trading in green on Tuesday after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported better than expected sales and China signaled more economic support measures to support the ailing property market. Indian markets ended rang bound trade with marginal gains on Monday as investors reacted to mixed U.S. jobs data and weak inflation readings from China. Today, start of the session is likely to be in green tracking overnight gains on Wall Street as well as higher opening in Asian counterparts. Foreign fund inflows likely to aid domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth a net Rs 588.48 crore on July10. Sentiments will get a boost as India's direct tax collection soared 16 per cent to touch Rs. 4.75 trillion this financial year, showing continuity in revenue growth despite external headwinds. Finance Ministry said the collection has gathered pace over past months, with net direct tax collection, net of refunds, growing 15.87 per cent to Rs. 4.75 trillion by July 9, higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year. Some support will come with a private report stating that a host of factors like a rising population, progress in innovation and technology, higher capital investments and rising labour productivity could potentially make India the world's second largest economy by 2075. Traders may take note of report that India has overtaken China as the most attractive emerging market for investing for sovereign wealth funds in 2023 due to its solid demographics, political stability and proactive regulation. However, there may be some cautiousness with a private report stating that India's headline retail inflation likely rose in June for the first time in five months on the back of higher vegetable prices and a fading favourable base. Meanwhile, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 50th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting today. The council is expected to discuss industry demand of full CGST, taxation on online gaming, casinos and more. Insurance stocks will be in focus with report that Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India's new business premium (NBP) in June increased 21 per cent to Rs 24,970.82 crore while the private sector life insurers registered growth of 13 per cent to Rs 11,990.94 crore.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• HDFC Bank has proposed to participate in an IPO of National Securities Depository, by way of an offer for sale of up to 2% equity stake held by the Bank in NSDL. 
• L&T has signed a Teaming Agreement with Navantia, Spain for the purpose of submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy's prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.  
• Coal India's subsidiary -- South Eastern Coalfields has planned to develop its closed Manikpur Pokhri open-cast coal mine in Chhattisgarh's Korba district as an eco-tourism spot.
• Bharti Airtel's arm -- Airtel Payments Bank is experiencing strong tailwinds of demand and will grow its banking points and deepen product offering range this year, as it looks to raise customer count and average realisation per user.