Market may open slightly lower

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 9 points at the opening bell.

India Inc's business sentiment has improved during July-September quarter as the government gradually unlocked the economy and business activity resumed, according to the CII's business outlook survey. The latest CII Business Confidence Index has surged to the level of 50.3 in July-September 2020, bouncing back from its lowest reading of 41 recorded in April-June 2020, the industry chamber said in a statement.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed on Monday, as investors awaited developments on U.S. fiscal stimulus and coronavirus vaccines amid a resurgence of infections in Europe.

China kept its benchmark lending rate for corporate and household loans steady for the fifth straight month at its September fixing on Monday, as expected. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept unchanged at 3.85%, while the five-year LPR remained at 4.65%. The LPR is a lending reference rate set monthly by 18 banks. Most new and outstanding loans are based on the LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages.

In US, stock indexes closed lower Friday, amid uncertainty about a fresh round of fiscal stimulus from Washington, concerns about tensions between the U.S. and China, and worries about the sluggish pace of economic recovery.

President Donald Trump said Saturday he has approved a deal in principle in which Oracle and Walmart will partner with the viral video-sharing app TikTok in the U.S., allowing the popular app to avoid a shutdown. Shortly after Trump's comments, Oracle announced it was chosen as TikTok's secure cloud provider and will become a minority investor with a 12.5% stake. TikTok confirmed Oracle's role and said it was working with Walmart on a commercial partnership. Walmart said it has tentatively agreed to a purchase 7.5% stake. TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance will own the remaining 80% of TikTok

In U.S. economic data, the University of Michigan said the preliminary reading of its U.S. consumer sentiment index in September was 78.9, up from 74.1 in the prior month.

The U.S. current-account deficit, a measure of the nation's debt to other countries, widened sharply in the second quarter. The current-account deficit widened to $170 billion from a revised $111.5 billion in the first quarter.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the Sensex ended with modest losses while the Nifty ended almost flat after a volatile session on Friday. Heavy selling in banks eclipsed rally in pharma shares. Worries about a resurgence in coronavirus cases across the globe spooked investors. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex lost 134.03 points or 0.34% at 38,845.82. The Nifty 50 index shed 11.15 points or 0.10% at 11,504.95.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 205.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 100.83 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 September, provisional data showed.

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