Indian equity benchmarks settled flat in a highly volatile trading session on Monday amid weak trends in the global markets. Selling in index heavyweights TCS, Reliance Industries and NTPC also played a spoilsport. Domestic equities made a cautious start and traded lackluster throughout the day, as traders were concerned as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) paper has said inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure, which in turn is moderating corporate sales and holding back private investment in capacity creation. Some concern also came as exchange data showed Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 344.81 crore on Friday.  However, losses were limited as traders took some support with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stating that the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) has supported over 16,000 exporters with an aggregate value of business covered to the tune of Rs 6.68 lakh crore in 2022-23 and it is expected to increase to more than Rs 10 lakh crore this fiscal. Traders got some relief as private report said Indian economy and market will be among the top globally by 2050 and even surpass the US by 2075. Besides, traders took a note of report that S&P Global Ratings has retained India's Gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 6 per cent for FY24 and said it will be the fastest growing economy among Asia Pacific nations. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 9.37 points or 0.01% to 62,970.00 and the CNX Nifty was up by 25.70 points or 0.14% to 18,691.20.

The US markets ended lower on Monday with Nasdaq settling over one percent cut. Worries about tighter monetary policies and the impact of higher rates on economic growth weighed on the markets. Investors looked ahead to the results of Bank Stress Tests, and some crucial economic data releases this week.  A slew of economic data including a key inflation gauge, durable goods and University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index is expected this week, as well as Powell's speech that could throw light on Fed's rate hike plans. The main indexes see-sawed in morning trade as markets reacted to the aborted revolt by Russian mercenaries over the weekend that raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's future and concerns about a possible disruption of Russian oil supply. In the stock specific developments, Shares of Tesla lost more than 6 percent following a rating downgrade by Goldman Sachs. Microsoft, Visa, Merck, Salesforce.com, J&J and Amgen lost 1 to 2 percent. However, Home Depot climbed about 2.5 percent. Nike surged 2 percent ahead of earnings. Chevron, Verizon, Intel, Honeywell International and Caterpillar gained 1 to 1.8 percent. Pacwest rallied about 4 percent, buoyed by an announcement from the company that it will be selling a $3.5 billion lender finance loan portfolio to Ares Management.

Crude oil futures ended higher on Monday on possible supply disruptions due to political instability in Russia. After an aborted mutiny by Wagner mercenary forces led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the geopolitical risk and internal instability in Russia has increased. Further, oil prices also rose as a report from OPEC said global oil demand will rise to 110 million barrels per day in about 20 years, pushing the world's energy demand up by 23%. Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery rose $0.21 or about 0.3 percent to settle at $69.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery gained $0.33 or 0.44 percent to settle at $74.18 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

The Indian rupee ended weaker against the US dollar on Monday amid geopolitical concerns and firming crude oil prices. Volatility in equity markets and FII outflows also weighed on the market sentiment. Traders were concerned as the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) paper has said inflation is slowing down personal consumption expenditure, which in turn is moderating corporate sales and holding back private investment in capacity creation. On the global front, Russian rouble tumbled to its lowest in nearly 15 months against the dollar in early trade on Monday before paring losses, as investors responded for the first time to an aborted mutiny by heavily armed mercenaries in Russia over the weekend. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.05 (Provisional), weaker by 9 paise from its previous close of 81.96 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 6511.11 crore against gross selling of Rs 6311.78 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 3761.91 crore against gross selling of Rs 711.40 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 16.98 crore against gross selling of Rs 20.60 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Monday after Russia on the weekend was rocked by a brief revolt from the Wagner mercenary force. Asian markets are trading mostly lower in early deals on Tuesday, following negative cues from US markets overnight, as investors were wary of betting on riskier assets before seeing the outcome of Russia's aborted weekend mutiny overnight. Indian Equity markets ended flat after swinging between gains and losses on Monday. Today, markets are likely to make cautious start amid weak global cues. Traders may be cautious as the International Monetary Fund's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said the world's top central banks may need longer to get inflation back down to target and a fresh bout of financial turbulence could make the process even more protracted. She stated central banks have raised interest rates at a brisk pace over the past year-and-a-half to fight off a historic surge in prices, but they have persistently underestimated inflationary pressures. Further, foreign fund outflows likely to dent domestic sentiments. According to the provisional data available on the NSE, foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 409.43 crore on June 26. However, some respite may come later in the day as the Ministry of Finance has approved capital investment proposals of Rs 56,415 crore for 16 states in the current financial year under a special assistance scheme announced in the budget. Capital investment projects in diverse sectors have been approved, including health, education, irrigation, water supply, power, roads, bridges, and railways. There may be some buzz in textile industry related stocks as Union Minister Piyush Goyal said India is actively considering entering into free trade pacts and comprehensive economic partnership agreements to tap new markets, increase exports and create opportunities for the domestic textile industry.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Infosys has signed a strategic collaboration with Danske Bank, a leading Nordic Bank, to accelerate the bank's digital transformation initiatives with speed and scale.
• Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) construction arm -- L&T construction has secured new orders for its Power Transmission & Distribution Business.
• Grasim Industries has received approval to raise amount not exceeding Rs 2,000 crore through issue of Non-Convertible Debentures on private placement basis, in one or more tranches.
• NTPC has received approval to issue of secured/ unsecured, redeemable, taxable/tax-free, cumulative/non-cumulative, non-convertible debentures up to Rs 12,000 crore.