Stocks may decline in early trade

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 83 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, most Asian stocks are trading lower on Wednesday as concerns over the world's recovery from the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment.

An expansion of Japan's factory activity gathered pace in March, a private sector survey showed on Wednesday. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.0 in March from a final 51.4 in February.

The World Health Organization said most regions of the globe are seeing an increase in new Covid cases as highly contagious variants continue to spread. Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18, while nearly a third of France entered a month-long shutdown on Saturday.

US stocks tumbled on Tuesday as concerns about the cost of infrastructure spending and potential tax hikes to pay for President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion relief bill weighed on investors.

Federal Reserve' Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made their first joint appearance Tuesday before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services. The duo acknowledged the richly valued asset prices in the markets, but said that they are not worried about financial stability.

Domestic markets:

Back home, domestic equity benchmarks ended with decent gains after a volatile session on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 280.15 points or 0.56% to 50,051.44. The Nifty 50 index advanced 78.35 points or 0.53% to 14,814.75.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 108.24 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 529.69 crore in the Indian equity market on 23 March, provisional data showed.

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