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Indian markets made a comeback on Tuesday, halting a losing streak that lasted four straight trading sessions, helped by strength in financial and IT stocks. Today, markets are likely to make slightly positive start amid gains across most other Asian markets, though oil prices continued to rise after the US banned Russia oil imports over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. State election results are just a day away, investors will likely take note of the exit polls prior to that. Some support will come with report that the Agriculture Ministry is ready with a new central scheme to promote natural farming in the country with an estimated outlay of Rs 2,500 crore. The proposed new scheme on natural farming will soon be placed before the Cabinet for approval. Traders may take note of the Reserve Bank has extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post shipment rupee credit for MSME exporters till March 2024 with the objective of boosting outbound shipments. However, there may be some cautiousness as rating agency Icra warned of serious downside risks to the economy next fiscal with runaway current account deficit, steep fall in the rupee and a hardening yields on government bonds, as a result of the Russian-Ukraine crisis and the resultant spike in crude and other commodity prices. Traders may be worried as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concern over rising crude prices due to the Ukraine crisis and indicated that the central government is looking to tap alternative sources. Metal stocks will be in focus with a private report that the price of steel will continue to move upwards on good demand and as the supply chain remains affected amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict. There will be some reaction in auto stocks as India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) revised its outlook for the auto sector to 'neutral' from 'improving' for 2022-23, saying supply-side constraints and a muted rural demand will restrict growth. It said domestic automobile sales volume is expected to grow 5-9 per cent year-on-year in 2022-23, after three consecutive years of decline, and is likely to fall 5-8 per cent in 2021-22. Meanwhile, a private report stated that LIC IPO has received capital markets regulator SEBI’s nod for its mega public issue. The issue will entirely be an offer for sale (OFS) by the government that is attempting to garner somewhere around Rs 63,000 crore to meet its divestment target.

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday as President Joe Biden officially announced a U.S. ban on Russian imports of oil and energy. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Wednesday as investors assess the impact of a worsening Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks snapped a four-day losing streak to end higher in the volatile session on Tuesday led by strong buying interest in Realty, IT and TECK stocks. Key indices made weak start, as traders remained cautious with rating agency Icra’s statement that the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia will burden domestic steelmakers with high input costs. Some cautiousness also came as a Crisil report warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the flurry of punitive sanctions imposed on the former by the US and European nations, have the potential to cull India's imports on one hand and also lead to input cost pressure on downstream companies in India Inc. Selling further crept in as a private report has downgraded Indian equities from ‘overweight’ to ‘underweight’ citing soaring oil prices that hit a 14-year high of over $140 a barrel in trade on Monday. However, domestic indices reversed their trend and traded with gains in late afternoon deal, taking support from private report stating that hiring activity witnessed a 31 per cent increase in February as multiple sectors recorded strong growth compared to the previous year. Traders also found some solace with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that goods exports will exceed the ambitious target set for the current fiscal and touch $410 billion, despite the supply-side disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Traders also took a note of Credit rating agency, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) report stated that the direct impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Indian credits appears to be limited. Ind-Ra’s initial assessment indicates that the impact would be largely restricted to small entities and those at the lower end of the credit spectrum. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 581.34 points or 1.10% to 53,424.09 and the CNX Nifty was up by 150.30 points or 0.95% to 16,013.45.

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