• India’s Nifty and Sensex start the week on the right footing on Monday.
• Nifty and Sensex gained over 1.60% on Friday, clinching fresh record highs.
• The focus shifts toward Fed Chair Powell and US Nonfarm Payrolls data.

The major benchmark indices for India, the Sensex 30 and Nifty 50, began the week on a stronger note on Monday, following the lead from the gain in the Gift Nifty futures and largely rising Asian stocks.

Exploiting solid Indian GDP figures and the global stock market upswing, both Indian indices concluded Friday with significant gains.

The National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) Nifty 50 and the Bombay Stock Exchange’s (BSE) Sensex 30 are currently trading at new record highs of 22,407.60 and 73,906.42, respectively, after rising 0.14% on the day.

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ONGC, Adani Ports, Dr. Reddy, Power Grid, NTPC, and ONGC are among the early movers on the Nifty on Monday. As of right now, Titan, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Eicher Motors, and Tata Consumer Products are the biggest losers.

On Friday, the manufacturing sector in India reached a five-month high of 56.9.

Even though the US manufacturing sector saw an acceleration in business activity in February—the ISM Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.8 from 49.1 in January, much below the market estimate of 49.5—the US financial markets ended the week higher.

As anticipated, the important US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 2.8% from a year ago and 0.4% for the month on Thursday.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are currently pricing in a 30% possibility that the Fed could start easing rates in May, which is slightly higher than a 20% chance from a week ago. The likelihood of a rate cut at the June meeting has increased from around 60% at the beginning of the previous week to roughly 71% currently.

According to figures provided by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday, India’s GDP grew by 8.4% annually in the third quarter (October–December), compared to 7.6% in the preceding quarter.

The Indian markets will be closed on Friday in honor of the Mahashivratri festival, thus this week will be shorter than usual. Meanwhile, this week’s key event risks for the markets will be the testimony of US Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell and the crucial US Nonfarm Payrolls report.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) gathering in China is another noteworthy occasion that can hint at new stimulus plans.