Extending their losses for the fifth straight session, Indian equity benchmarks ended with losses of over two percent each on Monday, as weak global cues, rising bond yields, and fears of Covid-19-led lockdown came to haunt the bulls on the Street. After making cautious start, the benchmarks traded with heavy losses, amid reports that ahead of its Bharat Bandh call on February 26, traders' body CAIT wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising issues related to the GST regime, and alleging violation of e-commerce rules by major e-tailers. In its letter to the prime minister, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) called for setting up of a special working group at the central level comprising senior officials, CAIT representatives and independent tax experts to review the GST structure and make recommendations to the government. Key indices extended their downside in second half of trading session to settle near days' low, as investors remained on sidelines ahead of the macroeconomic data that is GDP print for the December quarter that is slated to be out on Friday, February 26, post-market hours. Sentiments remained down-beat despite report stated that the GST revenue shortfall faced by states is likely to reduce by about Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal on improved collections over the past four months. Investors also paid no heed towards Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that the Union Budget 2021-22 is about the role of government as a facilitator and the private sector as a key driver of economic growth, without which the country would be losing a big opportunity. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a strong case for repealing archaic laws and making it easier to do business in India, stating that the centre and states need to work closely to boost economic growth. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 1145.44 points or 2.25% to 49,744.32, while the CNX Nifty was down by 306.05 points or 2.04% to 14,675.70.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Monday as traders moved out of technology stocks amid concerns about the impact of the recent increase in treasury yields. The sell-off came as the yield on the benchmark ten-year note saw further upside on the day, reaching its highest closing level in a year. Bond yields remain at historically low levels, but the recent increase may still spook investors already concerned that stocks are overbought. Traders were also looking ahead to two days of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell is likely to reiterate that the Fed plans to maintain easy monetary policy for the foreseeable future as the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Fed has recently signaled that it is not concerned about inflation, suggesting that inflation should exceed its 2 percent target for some time before the central bank considers raising interest rates. On the economic data front, the Conference Board released a report showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of January. The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.5 percent in January after rising by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in December. Street had expected the leading economic index to rise by 0.3 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Monday amid concerns about supply due to a slowdown in production returns after last week's severe cold snap. The cold weather in Texas and the plains states reportedly forced the shutdown of approximately 4 million barrels per day of crude production along with 21 billion cubic feet of natural gas output. According to private report, it will take some time for U.S. crude output to return to normal levels due to the damage suffered by various infrastructure items in refinery facilities due to the extreme cold weather last week. Crude oil futures for April rose $2.44 or 4.1 percent to settle at $61.70 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. April Brent crude surged $2.16 or 3.5 percent to settle at $64.30 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Rising for second straight session, Indian rupee ended stronger against dollar on Monday supported by sustained foreign fund inflows and weakness of the American currency in the overseas market. Continuing their buying spree, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested Rs 24,965 crore in Indian markets in February so far as various organisations predicted high economic growth for the country and the Union Budget boosted investors' sentiment. Traders took note of report that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement that the Union Budget 2021-22 is about the role of government as a facilitator and the private sector as a key driver of economic growth, without which the country would be losing a big opportunity. On the global front, pound hit a new three-year high on Monday, before stabilizing around the $1.40 level, as bullish investors bet on the UK's vaccination rollout bringing about an economic recovery. Finally, the rupee ended at 72.49, 16 paise stronger from its previous close of 72.65 on Thursday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net buyer in equity segment, while net seller in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 18153.28 crore against gross selling of Rs 17221.58 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 119.62 crore with gross sales of Rs 768.08 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 6.36 crore against gross selling of Rs 74.55 crore.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Monday as climbing Treasury yields and prospects of rising inflation triggered valuation concerns, hitting shares of high-flying growth companies. Asian markets are trading mixed on Tuesday as rising US Treasury yields and inflation prospects led to a further rotation out of the big tech stocks responsible for a major Wall Street rally during the pandemic. Indian markets ended over 2 percent lower on Monday dragged by heavy selling in banks, IT, and auto stocks. Today, the start of session is likely to be positive. Traders will be taking support with report that a day after surging past the 150,000-mark, India's count of active cases has dropped to 148,882. On Monday, the country registered 10,792 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking its the caseload tally to 11,015,863. Some support will come as the latest RBI policy minutes show that Governor Shaktikanta Das opined that growth momentum needs to be strengthened for a sustained revival of the economy and quick return to the pre-Covid trajectory while pitching for a status quo on rates. Traders may take note of report that the World Health Organization has agreed on a no-fault compensation plan for claims of serious side effects in people in 92 poorer countries due to COVID-19 vaccines via the COVAX sharing scheme, resolving a big concern among recipient governments. However, there may be some cautiousness as coronavirus cases rise unabated across the globe, with 112,248,996 infected by the deadly contagion. While 87,768,211 have recovered, 2,484,689 have died so far. Besides, Investment through participatory notes (P-notes) in the Indian capital market dipped marginally to Rs 84,976 crore as on January 31 after hitting 31-month high value at the end of the preceding month. Banking sector stocks will be in focus as India Ratings revised its outlook on the overall banking sector from negative to stable for FY22. According to the agency, substantial systemic measures have reduced COVID-linked stress below expected levels. It has also steeply upgraded its credit growth estimates for the current fiscal. Oil & gas and OMC stocks will be in limelight as Petrol and diesel prices on Tuesday touched a new high after state-owned fuel retailers hiked rates after keeping it unchanged for two days in a row. Meanwhile, Heranba Industries' Rs 625 crore IPO would open for subscription today. The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 626-627 per share. The firm, on Monday, garnered Rs 187.50 crore from 18 anchor investors ahead of its IPO.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• SBI's subsidiary -- SBI Payments is planning to launch YONO Merchant App to provide low-cost digital payments infrastructure to merchants. 
• APSEZ has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary company Aqua Desilting on February 19, 2021. 
• Tata Motors has launched its premium flagship SUV - the all-new Safari. 
• L&T's power transmission and distribution business has bagged large domestic and overseas contracts across its spectrum of offerings.