Indian equity benchmarks extended losses for third consecutive day on Monday amid weak global cues, following Silicon Valley Bank crisis. All sectors ended in red with banking and Telecom facing the major burnt, down over 2% each.  Markets opened positive as traders took some support with data showing that India's industrial production growth perked up slightly to 5.2 per cent in January from 4.7 per cent in December 2022, mainly due to good performance of the power, mining and manufacturing sectors. Some support also came with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stating that net direct tax collection so far this fiscal grew 17 per cent to reach Rs 13.73 lakh crore, which is 83 per cent of the revised target for the full financial year. Traders also took a note of the Reserve Bank of India's statement that India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $1.46 billion to $562.4 billion as of March 3, arresting the four successive weeks of fall. However, the indices soon gave up the initial gains and came under intense selling pressure in afternoon deals, as traders turned cautious with a private report that India's retail inflation probably breached the central bank's target for a second straight month in February, prompting the monetary authority to possibly hike borrowing costs to the highest level in seven years. India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) data is to be out later in the day. Weakness also prevailed in the markets as foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold shares worth Rs 2,061.47 crore on March 10, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. Some anxiety also came amid a private report stating that the central government has placed strict conditions on states to avail of the Rs 1.3 trillion in long-term loans for their capital expenditure (capex) needs in the approaching fiscal year (2023-24, or FY24) to ensure effective utilisation of funds. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 897.28 points or 1.52% to 58,237.85 and the CNX Nifty was down by 258.60 points or 1.49% to 17,154.30.

The US markets ended mostly lower in volatile trading on Monday. Concerns over the fallout of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank rendered the mood quite bearish at the start. Several stocks from the banking sector posted big losses. First Republic Bank tanked more than 60 percent, Keycorp, Zions Bancorporation, First Horizon National and KeyCorp, all shed more than 20 percent. American Express ended nearly 5 percent down. Goldman Sachs closed lower by more than 3 percent, and JP Morgan Chase drifted down 1.7 percent. Travelers Companies, Merck, Caterpillar, Walt Disney, Chevron, Visa and Intel also ended weak, albeit with less pronounced losses. The focus is on Tuesday's U.S. inflation data. The Federal Reserve's policy meeting is scheduled to be held on March 21-11, while the Bank of England meets a day after the FOMC meeting on March 23. However, the assurance from the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that they would fully protect depositors, including those with assets above the federally guaranteed $250,000 limit, helped lift sentiment. Hopes that the Fed will pause its tightening cycle due to the debacle in the banking sector contributed as well to the market's recovery.

Crude oil futures settled deeply in red on Monday amid rising worries over a U.S. banking debacle following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The sudden shutdown of SVB Financial triggered concerns about risks to other banks resulting from the U.S. Federal Reserve's sharp interest rate hikes over the last year. However, the Biden administration has assured that there won't be a relapse of the financial crisis from 15 years ago. The U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said they would fully protect depositors, including those with assets above the federally guaranteed $250,000 limit. Benchmark crude oil futures for April delivery fell $1.88 or 2.4 percent to $74.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery dropped $2.01 or 2.43 percent to $80.77 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended considerably lower against the US dollar on Monday tracking the weak sentiment in the domestic equity market and unabated foreign fund outflow. Traders were cautious even as India's industrial production growth perked up to 5.2 per cent in January 2023 from 4.7 per cent in December 2022. There was an improvement on an annual as well as sequential basis. The factory output growth measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 2 per cent in January 2022. On the global front, Russian rouble rose sharply against the dollar on Monday as U.S. authorities launched emergency measures to shore up confidence in the banking system after a bank failure, while higher oil prices pushed Russian stocks higher. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.16 (Provisional), weaker by 10 paise from its previous close of 82.06 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net sellers in both equity and debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5160.35 crore against gross selling of Rs 6924.71 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 123.57 crore against gross selling of Rs 858.10 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 9.79 crore against gross selling of Rs 12.52 crore.

The US markets ended mostly in red on Monday as slid in bank shares dragged Wall Street down with investors worried about contagion from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, but downside remained capped as some sectors benefited from hopes the Federal Reserve could ease up on interest rates hikes. Asian markets are trading lower on Tuesday after sharp losses seen overnight on Wall Street. Indian markets ended lower for a third straight session on Monday amid a global sell-off in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse. Today, markets are likely to make flat-to-positive start shrugging off weakness across major markets elsewhere around the globe. Traders will be taking encouragement as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the country's goods and services exports are marching ahead to cross $750 billion in the current financial year and talks for expanding rupee trade with certain countries are at an advanced stage. Some support will come as S&P Global Ratings said the credit quality of Indian finance companies (fincos) will continue to improve owing to the country's strong macroeconomic trends. However, there may be some cautiousness as India's CPI inflation in February remained above RBI's tolerance range indicating more rate hikes in future. India's consumer price inflation (CPI)-based inflation eased marginally to 6.44 per cent in February, compared to 6.52 per cent in January. As per a private report, the Reserve Bank is likely to hike benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points in its bi-monthly policy next month to bring down inflation within the central bank's comfort zone. Traders may be concerned amid foreign fund outflows. The National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 1,546.86 crore on March 13. There will be some buzz in aviation industry stocks as rating agency Icra said domestic air passenger traffic is projected to have touched around 1.19 crore in February, only about 4 per cent lower compared to pre-Covid levels. Icra has also revised the outlook for the domestic aviation industry to stable from negative, citing a fast-paced recovery in domestic passenger traffic in FY 2023 and the expected continuation of the same in FY 2024. Coal industry stocks will be in focus with report that coal imports have seen a 25 per cent fall in the last three years as India strives to increase domestic production and reduce dependence on imports. Meanwhile, investors will be eyeing wholesale inflation data to be out later in the day.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• ICICI Bank has received approval from RBI for extension of time till September 9, 2024 for divesting the Bank's shareholding in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company (Company) to less than 30% of the Company's paid up capital. 
• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone's step down subsidiary -- Adani Agri Logistics has incorporated wholly owned subsidiary namely BU Agri Logistics on March 11, 2023. 
• Kotak Mahindra Bank and Indian Oil Corporation have launched a highly rewarding, co-branded fuel credit card. 
• JSW Steel's wholly owned subsidiary -- JSW Steel Coated Products has completed the acquisition of 31% equity shareholding in Ayena Innovation.