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Indian markets ended lower with cut of around a percent each on Thursday dragged by selling across the board. Today, Indian benchmark indices are likely to open on a weak note mirroring sluggish trend in global markets coupled with lack of any major domestic trigger. Investors may react to the Q1 performance by IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which was below Street expectations. There will be some cautiousness with a private report that Southwest monsoon has practically stalled over most parts of the country since June 19. This has not only delayed its progress over north India but has also badly impacted the sowing of the kharif crop. However, some respite may come later in the day as India recorded a sharp decline in new infections. The country reported 34,443 fresh cases taking the total caseload to 30,708,092, according to Worldometer. Some optimism may come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government has taken important decisions for the welfare of agriculture and farmers, noted that a Rs 23,000 crore package has also been approved to strengthen the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Some support may come with a private report that hiring activity in the country, which was hit by the second COVID wave, bounced back with a 15 per cent growth in June compared to May. The activity was led by the IT-Software/Software Services sector. Traders may take note of report that the finance ministry on Thursday said it has released the fourth monthly installment of post devolution revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states. With the release of this installment, a total amount of Rs 39,484 crore has been released to eligible states in current financial year. There will be some buzz in the auto stocks as India's overall vehicle retail sales rose in both sequential and on year-on-year basis in June 2021. Accordingly, the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showed a rise of 22.26 per cent during the month under review from the level of June 2020. Banking stocks will be in focus as the Reserve Bank asked banks and financial institutions to use any widely accepted alternative reference rate (AAR) instead of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rates) as the reference rate for entering into new financial contracts. There will be some reaction in power industry stocks with report that power demand in the country touched an all-time high and crossed the 200 GW mark amid many states witnessing high temperatures due to delayed monsoon, and easing of coronavirus-related restrictions.

The US markets ended in red on Thursday amid sell-off driven by uncertainties surrounding the pace of the US economic recovery. Asian markets are trading mostly lower on Friday on growing anxiety that the spread of Covid-19 variants could hamper the global economic recovery.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended the weekly expiry session in the red with a loss of about a percent amid a selloff in global markets. The Sensex fell as much as 485 point and Nifty 50 index briefly tumbled below its important psychological level of 15,750.  After making cautious start, key indices witnessed selling pressure throughout the day, as rising coronavirus cases weighted down on market sentiments. India recorded a spike of 45,196 new infections, taking the total caseload to 30,708,092, according to Worldometer. Some concern also came as Fitch Ratings in its latest report said that It has cut India's growth forecast to 10 per cent for the current financial year (FY22), from 12.8 per cent estimated earlier, due to slowing recovery post-second wave of COVID-19. It said the challenges for the banking sector posed by the coronavirus pandemic have increased due to a virulent second wave in the first quarter of the financial year ending March 2022 (FY22). Indian bourses extended their losses in second half of the session, as investors were concerned with private report stating that the India's retail inflation likely to accelerate to seven-month high in June on rising food and fuel prices, staying above the Reserve Bank of India's comfort zone for a second straight month. While many of India's states have eased restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus, supply-side disruptions remain and higher taxes on petroleum products continue to exert upward pressure on inflation. Sentiments remained pessimistic after Fitch Ratings in its latest report said localized lockdowns during the second wave kept economic activity from stalling to levels similar to those during 2020, but disruption in several key business centers has slowed the recovery and dented its expectations of a rebound to pre-pandemic levels by FY22. Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has called for a services trade agreement among friendly nations of the Indo-Pacific region as it can help liberalise domestic regulations and build capacity in sectors like e-commerce and IT. He also said India's trade with select Indo-Pacific economies increased to $262 billion in 2020 from $33 billion in 2001. However, he said, non-tariff measures act as major trade barriers in the region. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 485.82 points or 0.92% to 52,568.94, while the CNX Nifty was down by 151.75 points or 0.96% to 15,727.90.

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