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Indian markets ended with strong gains Friday led by broad-based buying across sectors amid positive global cues. Today, the start of F&O expiry week is likely to be pessimistic amid mixed global cues coupled with concerns about the shortage of vaccine in the country. The pace of vaccination although is worrying amid shortages of jabs even as a third vaccine -- Sputnik V -- has been added to the inoculation list. Amid a crunch, a few states have suspended vaccination drive for citizens aged 18-45. Traders will be concerned as a private report stated that the consumer confidence in India has further weakened in May amid the severe Covid crisis and the resultant lockdowns across states. The monthly Refinitiv-Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) for India, in May, has shown a sharp drop of 6.3 percentage points, over April 2021, amid Covid-19 fears. There will be some cautiousness as rating agency ICRA said slackening economic momentum driven by the second wave of Covid-19 infections in India has emerged as a concern with bruised sentiment, high healthcare costs and fuel expenses likely to limit discretionary purchases in the immediate term. Also, overseas investors withdrew Rs 4,444 crore from Indian markets in May so far amid concerns over the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and its possible impact on the Indian economy. However, India reporting Covid-19 cases below the 250,000-mark for the second consecutive day may help cap the losses. The fresh caseload stood at 2.4 lakh. Amid a drop in cases, a few states have hinted at the possibility of easing lockdown from next month onwards. Some support may come with a private report stating that the RBI surprised the Centre with a record Rs 99,122 crore in surplus transfer for FY21, this will help the government tide over the revenue losses from lockdowns and extend more support to the pandemic hit industries and to the poor people. Besides, RBI data showed the country's foreign exchange reserves rose by $563 million to reach $590.028 billion in the week ended May 14. Traders may take note of report that the GST Council is its upcoming meeting, scheduled to be held on May 28, is likely to take a call on levy of 12 per cent tax on import of oxygen concentrators for personal use. Oil and Gas sector stocks will be in focus as the government data released India's natural gas production jumped 22.7 per cent in April after Reliance Industries and its partner BP Plc ramped up output from their eastern offshore KG-D6 block. There will be some reaction in power stocks as total dues owed by electricity distribution companies to power producers fell 3.4 per cent to Rs 78,379 crore in March 2021 as compared to the year-ago period, showing a reversal of discoms' growing outstandings.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Friday weighed down by technology and consumer discretionary shares, while the dollar edged higher after stronger-than-expected US manufacturing data. Asian markets are trading mixed on Monday as investors anxiously awaited a key read on US inflation this week for guidance on monetary policy.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks showcased a courageous performance by rallying around two percent in the session and settled above the psychological 15,150 (Nifty) and 50,500 (Sensex) levels. The markets made a firm start of the day, on account of dip in daily Covid cases. The new infection count remained below the 300,000-mark for the fifth consecutive day in India as it witnessed a spike of 259,269 fresh coronavirus cases. The Ministry of External Affairs said India is engaged with American entities for procurement of COVID-19 vaccines from the US and their possible manufacturing in the country subsequently. Sentiments remained up-beat with report that the International Monetary Fund stands ready to strengthen its dialogue and scale-up its technical collaboration with India, observing that the human tragedy is a stark reminder that the pandemic continues to be a grave threat globally. Markets further gained traction to end the trading session with fabulous gains, amid report that banks are likely to transfer about 80 large NPA accounts for the resolution to National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), which is expected to be operational by next month. NARCL is the name coined for the bad bank announced in the Budget 2021-22. A bad bank refers to a financial institution that takes over the bad assets of lenders and undertakes resolution. Traders remain energized as a rapid response to support startup-driven solutions for tackling the current challenging, second wave of COVID 2.0 in the country, Indian startups and companies have been invited to apply for developing new technologies and innovative products that can enable country to fight the crisis. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will transfer a surplus of Rs 99,122 crore to the government for the nine-month accounting period ended March 31. The transfer will help the government's finances as the country battles a furious second coronavirus wave that has seen daily infections and deaths rise to a record level. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 975.62 points or 1.97% to 50,540.48, while the CNX Nifty was up by 269.25 points or 1.81% to 15,175.30.

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