Weak opening on the cards

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could slide 193 points at the opening bell.

On the macro front, India's GDP growth slowed down to 5.4% in October-December 2021 from 8.5% in the previous quarter, data released on February 28 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. The statistics ministry also said India's GDP will likely grow by 8.9% in FY22, down from its first advance estimate of 9.2%, released in early January 2022.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for February declined to Rs 1.33 lakh crore, down 5.6% from the first month of 2022, data released on March 1 by the finance ministry showed.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Wednesday as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict continued to lead to a surge in oil prices.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday as sanctions on Russian banks following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine hampered trade finance for crude shipments and some traders opted to avoid Russian supplies in an already tight market. Brent crude futures climbed above $108 a barrel, scaling highs not seen since July 2014.

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with financial stocks bearing much of the damage for a second straight day as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepened and stirred anxiety among investors.

Investors are also gearing up to hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in his semiannual hearing at House Committee on Financial Services, which begins on Wednesday. Investors will be watching closely for his comments on potential rate hikes, as market expectations for hikes this year has eased slightly since Russia's invasion.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the domestic equity benchmarks bounced off initial losses and ended with modest gains on Monday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 388.76 points or 0.70% to 56,247.28. The Nifty 50 index added 135.50 points or 0.81% to 16,793.90. The domestic stock market remained shut on Tuesday, 1 March 2022, on account of Mahashivratri.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 3,948.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 4,142.82 crore in the Indian equity market on 28 February, provisional data showed.

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