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Indian markets recovered from the day’s losses to end flat on Friday. Today, the markets are likely to make gap-down opening amid sell-off in the global markets. There will be some cautiousness as Care Ratings said the credit growth for FY22 is likely to remain in low double-digit on the back of muted economic activity. However, downside may remain capped as India's fresh Covid cases have stayed below 1 lakh for the last 14 days while on Sunday, the country reported 58,419 fresh cases, the lowest in 81 days. Some support may come as Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) K V Subramanian said the government is open to coming out with more measures to boost the economy which has been hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has pitched for policy support from all sides -- fiscal, monetary and sectoral -- to nurture recovery of the economy hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, the Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has urged the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) to address issues faced by MSME borrowers and the NBFCs catering to these enterprises. Besides, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pumped in a net Rs 13,667 crore so far in June as Indian markets continued to remain attractive to overseas investors. There will be some buzz in oil & gas sector stocks as the commerce and industry ministry floated a draft cabinet note seeking inter-ministerial views on a proposal to allow up to 100 percent foreign investment under automatic route in oil and gas PSUs, which have an 'in-principle' approval for disinvestment. Telecom stocks will be in focus reacting to their subscribers’ data. Reliance Jio added 79.18 lakh wireless subscribers, Bharti Airtel added 40.5 lakh users and Vodafone Idea gained 10.8 lakh customers during March. There will be some buzz in insurance industry stocks with investment information firm ICRA’s statement that the general insurance industry is expected to clock 7 to 9 per cent growth in gross direct premium income during FY22. This will be supported by growth in health segment and uptick in motor segment.

The US markets ended lower on Friday with investors wary of a more hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve, while the dollar posted the strongest gains in over a year and oil prices continued a steady climb. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Monday as Japan’s markets plummeted in the morning.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks closed on a flat note after a volatile trade on Friday amid a largely negative trend in global stocks. Markets made positive start, as traders took some support with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) urged the government to provide a fiscal stimulus worth Rs 3 trillion along with direct cash transfers to perk up domestic demand. The industry body also sought expansion in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) balance sheet to meet the demand exigencies of the pandemic. Also, India maintained 43rd rank on an annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) that examined the impact of COVID-19 on economies around the world this year. However, key indices soon erased initial gains and slipped over half a percent in morning trades, as sentiments turned pessimistic with a private report stated that lockdowns imposed by the states in April and May to contain the second wave of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic has likely led to the economy contracting 12 per cent in the June quarter as against 23.9 per cent contraction in the same quarter in 2020. Markets remained weak in late afternoon deals, as assessment made by the Reserve Bank stating that the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in April-May is estimated to have cost the nation Rs 2 lakh crore in terms of output. It also said the second wave's toll is mainly in terms of the hit to domestic demand on account of regional and specific containment rather than a nation-wide lockdown. But markets recovered lost ground in fag end of a trading session as buying emerge in Telecom and FMCG stocks. Traders took note of report that Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment (Independent Charge) Santosh Gangwar has said that India is committed to improve employment outcomes for all youth in India, including women and vulnerable section of the people, through an enduring, long-term commitment for better opportunities. He said that the government is making all-out efforts to improve the bridge between education and employment, and to prepare young people for the future of work. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 21.12 points or 0.04% to 52,344.45, while the CNX Nifty was down by 8.05 points or 0.05% to 15,683.35.

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