Indian equity benchmarks snapped a two-day losing streak to end higher in a volatile trade on Monday as global authorities took steps to contain the banking turmoil, helping dispel some of the contagion fears.  After a firm start, the markets extended gains as the day progressed, as traders took encouragement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that India will emerge as a developed nation by 2047 with efforts of every single individual. He said the dream will turn into a reality with the hard work of every single individual of the country and the government is encouraging collective efforts. Also, foreign fund inflows aided domestic sentiments. Foreign investors have pumped Rs 7,200 crore into the Indian equities so far this month, mainly driven by bulk investment in the Adani Group companies by the US-based GQG Partners. Sentiments remained positive in afternoon deals, as S&P Global Ratings kept its forecast for India's economic growth unchanged at 6 per cent in the fiscal year starting April 1, before rising to 6.9 per cent in the following year. In the quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific, S&P saw inflation rate easing to 5 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal, from 6.8 per cent in the current financial year.  Some support also came with the Reserve Bank stating that India's forex kitty rose by $12.798 billion to $572.801 billion in the week ended March 17. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $2.39 billion to a three-month low of $560.003 billion. However, the fag-end selling dragged the markets off day's high points. Traders also turned cautious as the government proposed hiking the securities transaction tax on Futures & Options (F&O) contracts, a move that will increase the trading costs in the derivatives segment as well as help in curbing excessive trades. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 126.76 points or 0.22% to 57,653.86 and the CNX Nifty was up by 40.65 points or 0.24% to 16,985.70.

The US markets ended mostly in green on Monday as traders looked to build on last week's gains as fears of a global banking crisis once again eased following the latest developments in the sector. Shares of First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) skyrocketed after the company an agreement with the FDIC to purchase substantially all deposits and loans of failed Silicon Valley Bridge Bank. The FDIC said the transaction included the purchase of about $72 billion of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank's assets at a discount of $16.5 billion. U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) also showed a strong move back to the upside after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz noted the bank remains profitable and said there is no reason to doubt its future. However, buying interest waned over the course of the session with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines. On the sectoral front, Energy stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, benefitting from a substantial increase by the price of crude oil. With crude for May delivery soaring $3.55 to $72.81 a barrel, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 4.3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index shot up by 2.5 percent. Significant strength was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent surge by the KBW Bank Index.

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Monday on concerns about oil supply after Russian President Vladmir Putin said he will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbor and ally Belarus, and Iraq halted some of its crude exports from Kursistan region. Iraq's decision to halt exports from Kurdistan resulted in a loss of 450,000 barrels per day, or about half a percent of global oil supply. Further, optimism about an increase in China's crude imports this year contributed as well to the rise in oil prices. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery rose $3.55 or about 5.1 percent to settle at $72.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery surged $3.13 or about 4.20 percent to settle at $78.12 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended higher against dollar on Monday, as a positive trend in domestic equities and a weak dollar supported investor sentiments. Some support came with the Reserve Bank stating that India's forex kitty rose by $12.798 billion to $572.801 billion in the week ended March 17. Besides, S&P Global Ratings kept its forecast for India's economic growth unchanged at 6 per cent in the fiscal year starting April 1, before rising to 6.9 per cent in the following year. In the quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific, S&P saw inflation rate easing to 5 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal, from 6.8 per cent in the current financial year. On the global front, Russian rouble strengthened on Monday, supported by rising oil prices and this week's month-end tax payment, which usually sees exporters convert foreign exchange revenues to pay local liabilities. Finally, the rupee ended at 82.37 (Provisional), stronger by 3 paise from its previous close of 82.40 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5318.92 crore against gross selling of Rs 6775.66 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1301.93 crore against gross selling of Rs 416.33 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 11.78 crore against gross selling of Rs 9.65 crore.

The US markets ended mostly in green on Monday after reports of further government support for regional banks and the sale of SVB assets to First Citizens. Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday after US financial shares rose and Treasuries fell as fears of broader contagion from the banking turmoil eased. Indian markets ended higher with modest gains on Monday, reflecting gains in Europe and U.S. stock futures, as jitters in the banking sector eased. Today, start of the session is likely to be in green following positive cues from global peers. Some optimism will come as SBI Research in its latest Ecowrap report said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to pause their interest rate hike and the current 6.5 per cent repo rate could be the terminal rate for now. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for the first week of April 2023. Besides, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said India will be looking to push the rupee trade agenda in the G-20 meetings it is organising as part of its ongoing presidency of the forum. He added rupee trade will be of help, especially with those countries whose currencies are under pressure. However, there may be some cautiousness as FPIs returned to their old ways by selling shares to the tune of Rs 890 crore on March 27. Oil & gas, airline, auto and paint manufacturing companies will be in focus after oil prices jumped nearly 5 percent overnight to record their biggest gains in months amid Russia's threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus and the shutdown of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline at the request of the Turkish government. There will be some buzz in the real estate industry stocks with private report that real estate sector has received an equity capital of $32 billion during the last five years and is expected to attract $12-13 billion during 2023-24 with office assets likely to garner maximum fund. OMCs will be in focus as in a push for green mobility, the Centre sanctioned Rs 800 crore under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME II) to three public sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs) for setting up 7,432 public fast-charging stations across the country. There will be some reaction in aviation industry stocks with a private report that the Middle East and Asia-Pacific (MEAP) regions have transformed into a major international hub and are expected to account for 58 per cent of the global air passenger demand by 2040. Meanwhile, leading bourses NSE and BSE have said that Adani Green Energy will be put under the second stage of the long-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework from March 28.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Steel has acquired 4,65,116 equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 205 per share of Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services, on Rights basis, for an amount aggregating to around Rs 10 crore.
• Larsen & Toubro's construction arm -- L&T construction has secured EPC orders for its Power Transmission & Distribution Business in India and overseas. 
• Bharti Airtel has launched cutting edge 5G services in Port Blair, making it the first operator to bring the power of 5G to the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• Reliance Industries' subsidiary -- Reliance Jio Infocomm has installed close to 1 lakh telecom towers to roll out India's fastest and deepest penetration 5G telecom network to provide ultra-high speed internet.