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Indian markets extended gains to the third day in a row on Thursday, helped by financial, consumer and auto shares, amid planned talks between Ukraine and Russia buoyed global risk-on sentiment. Today, markets are likely to get a weak start, amid weakness across global markets, as focus returned to global cues after investors cheered results of Assembly polls in five states. Investors will be eyeing the IIP data to be out after market hours. Sentiments may get impacted with the Reserve Bank data showing that India Inc's direct overseas investment declined 67 per cent to $753.61 million in February this year. Traders will be concerned as a private brokerage firm sharply cut its India FY23 real GDP growth estimate to 7.9 per cent, mainly due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on oil prices. There will be some cautiousness as Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund said India has been very good at managing its finances but the surge in global energy prices is going to have a negative impact on its economy. Traders may take note of report that S&P Global Ratings said the Reserve Bank of India may feel pressure to tackle inflation sooner than it expected following a surge in global commodity prices. Meanwhile, rating agency Crisil said Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.8 per cent in 2022-23, mainly driven by the government’s drive to push infrastructure spending and likely increase in private capital expenditure. The rating agency, however, cautioned that the ongoing Russia Ukraine war and rising commodity prices do pose a downside risk to the growth. Separately, the Income Tax department said Refunds worth over Rs 1.86 lakh crore have been issued to more than 2.14 crore taxpayers during the current financial year. Banking stocks will be in focus with RBI data showing that bank credit grew by 7.9 per cent to Rs 116.27 lakh crore and deposits rose by 8.6 per cent to Rs 162.17 lakh crore in the fortnight ended February 25. There will be some reaction in Jewellery industry related stocks as Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said India’s gold imports bounced back to 1,067.72 tonnes in 2021 from 430.11 tonnes during 2020 when the demand was hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday as US inflation hit almost 8 per cent, confirming that the Federal Reserve will most likely raise interest rates next week. Asian markets are trading in red on Friday as the pull-back rally fizzled out.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks ended higher for the third consecutive session on Thursday tracking strong global cues, easing crude oil prices and investor cheer on election results where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in four out of five states. An across-the-board rally swept the markets with FMCG, Realty, Metal and Banking sectors leading from the front. Markets opened with a significant gap on the upside, as traders took some support with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal stating that the venture capitalists have played a pivotal role in India's startup story and the economic growth of the country. Addressing the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association's (IVCA) Conclave, he said they have been driving innovation and bringing new ideas to the fore. Some support also came as private report stated that hiring activity witnessed a three per cent uptick sequentially in February as almost all industries showcased strong growth with the end of the third wave of the pandemic. Adding to the optimism, report stated that India and Canada are set to hold talks during March 10-13 to further strengthen the bilateral ties and discuss economic partnership, including a free trade agreement between both nations. However, key indices trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon deals, as traders turned anxious with Ratings and Research’s (Ind-Ra) report that the country's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to widen to a 13-quarter high of $23.6 billion or 2.8 per cent of GDP in October-December 2021-22 (Q3FY22) as against a deficit of $9.6 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in Q2 FY22, due to higher commodity prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In Q3 FY21, the deficit was $2.2 billion (0.3 per cent of GDP). Traders took a note of Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan’s statement that India needs to recalibrate its response to the price situation following disruptions in global supply chains on account of Russia-Ukraine war, as losing the battle against inflation neither serves the government nor the central bank. Further, he said it is very important for any central bank to respect its mandate given to it by the government. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 817.06 points or 1.50% to 55,464.39 and the CNX Nifty was up by 249.55 points or 1.53% to 16,594.90.

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