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Indian markets fell amid choppy trade on Monday as investors returned to trade after a long weekend. Losses in financial, IT and oil & gas shares pulled the headline indices lower. Today, the markets are likely to make cautious start as global sentiment remains subdued amid a sharp rally in oil prices again. Investors will continue to watch out for developments on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, some support may come with Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das’ statement that the RBI will continue to ensure adequate liquidity to support the economy, which is facing many headwinds in the form of soaring crude oil and key commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India buying more volumes of crude oil from Russia is still less than 1 per cent of the total oil imports while the volumes from the US will rise significantly. There will be some buzz in advertising industry stocks as a joint report by industry body Ficci and consultancy firm EY stated that the Indian advertising sector is expected to grow with a CAGR of 12 per cent and should reach Rs 1 lakh crore revenue by 2024. Aviation industry stocks will be in limelight as domestic air traffic rose 20 per cent sequentially to 7.69 million in February, up from 6.4 million in January. Airlines saw a sharp rebound in traffic with the decline of Covid cases and easing of restrictions. This was reflected in a jump in passenger load factors registered in February. There will be some reaction in insurance companies stocks with a private report that the government is soon likely to announce a plan to strengthen state-run general insurance firms, including details of the capital infusion of about Rs 5,000 crore that it has already approved. E-commerce industry stocks will be in focus as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that several ministries, which are related to e-commerce, are deliberating on the e-commerce policy draft and it will be put out in the public domain after discussions. Besides, a private report stated that domestic state fuel retailers will raise petrol and diesel pump prices by 0.8 rupees ($0.0105) per litre from Tuesday, the first increase since November.

The US markets ended lower on Monday as there was no substantial progress on the Ukraine peace deal, and the EU considered a possible energy embargo against Russia. Asian markets are trading mixed on Tuesday following weakness on Wall Street overnight.

Back home, Snapping two day sharp rally, Indian equity markets ended the Monday’s trade in red terrain with a percent cut as continued conflict in Ukraine pushed oil prices higher. Crude prices past $110 a barrel mark, blowing fears of higher inflation. Markets made slightly positive opening as some support came in as India's collection from tax on personal and corporate income jumped over 48 per cent in the current fiscal after a 41 per cent surge in advance tax payments, mirroring sustained economic recovery in a year that witnessed two waves of coronavirus infections. Soon, markets pared gains to enter into red terrain as traders turned cautious as according to the latest data from the RBI, the country’s foreign exchange reserves declined $9.646 billion to $622.275 billion in the week ended March 11. Traders paid no heed towards European and International Affairs Alexander Schallenberg’s statement that 'huge business opportunities exist for India and Austria to enhance bilateral trade and investments. The bilateral trade between the two countries has crossed $1 billion and it shows what kind of potential we have. Key gauges extended losses in second half of the day to end near intraday lows as sentiments dampened after retail inflation for farm workers and rural labourers rose to 5.59 per cent and 5.94 per cent respectively in February, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Traders also remained on sidelines with Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha’s statement that huge expenditure on welfare schemes by the Modi government has severely impacted the public finances which are currently in a mess with fiscal deficit touching abnormally high levels. Traders shrugged off the latest payroll data report stating that retirement fund body EPFO added 15.29 lakh subscribers on a net basis in January 2022, an increase of over 21 per cent compared to 12.60 lakh in December 2021. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 571.44 points or 0.99% to 57,292.49 and the CNX Nifty was down by 169.45 points or 0.98% to 17,117.60.