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Indian markets snapped a three-day winning streak to end sharply lower on Thursday amid mixed global cues and selling in information technology and realty names. Today, markets are likely to open in green following Asian peers. Traders will be taking encouragement as CBDT Chairman J B Mohapatra said direct tax collections are expected to breach the revised target of Rs 12.50 lakh crore and set an all-time high and 'historic' record by the end of this financial year in March. Some support will come as economic think-tank NCAER said the business confidence has remained buoyant in the third quarter of the current financial year, though the pace of rise was moderated by a spurt in the number of COVID-19 cases in December 2021. Business sentiments recovered in the October-December quarter of 2021–22 as compared to those prevailing in the July-September quarter. Traders may take note of a private report that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may go for a hike of up to 0.25 per cent in the reverse repo rate at which the RBI absorbs excess liquidity and leave the repo rate at which it lends, to narrow the policy rate corridor. Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel has asked the government to explore new and innovative tools to deal with the issue of financial constrains in the renewable energy sector, including setting up of green banks and introduction of renewable finance obligation for financial institutions, among others. Sugar industry stocks will be in focus as industry body ISMA said the country's sugar production is estimated to have increased by 5.64 percent to 18.70 million tonnes during the October-January period of the ongoing marketing year, 2021-22, from over the year-ago period. There will be some reaction in tyre industry stocks as the All India Tyres Federation sought removal of anti-dumping duty on tyres and urged the government to lift import restrictions imposed after the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order on domestic tyre manufacturers for indulging in price rigging and cartelisation. Investors awaited more of quarterly results from India Inc for cues. Besides, Manyavar-owner Vedant Fashions IPO will open for subscription today. The issue will remain open for bidding till Tuesday, February 08. It is looking to raise Rs 3,149 crore from the primary market.

The US markets ended lower on Thursday snapped a four-session winning streak after Facebook-owner Meta Platforms' dour forecast sent its stock plummeting and halted a nascent recovery built on upbeat earnings from other big tech. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday despite a slump on Wall Street overnight after a dire forecast by Facebook. The China market remained shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks took a U-turn after three consecutive days of gains to end in the red on Thursday, amid profit-booking. Weak global cues also dampened the mood on Dalal Street. Indices opened on a tepid note and traded lower throughout the day, as domestic rating agency CRISIL has estimated FY23 real GDP growth at 7.8 per cent as compared with the 8.5 per cent projected in the Economic Survey. The agency said global growth is expected to slow this year as major economies see a withdrawal of monetary and fiscal stimulus. It will have a direct bearing on India's growth prospects as exports have been a key demand driver of domestic growth during the pandemic. Sentiments remained pessimistic as India’s service sector activity fell in the month of January, as growth was curbed by the escalation of the pandemic. Moreover, job shedding continued and business confidence took a hit. As per the survey report, the seasonally adjusted Nikkei Services Business Activity Index eased to 51.5 in January from 55.5 in December. Further, the Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index -- which measures both manufacturing and services -- also fell to 53.0 in January from 56.4 in December. The key benchmarks extended losses and languished near the lows of the day in late afternoon session. Selling further crept in as foreign institutional investors stood as net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 183.60 crore on Wednesday. Traders failed to take support with data by Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) showing that India's unemployment rate witnessed a sharp decline to 6.57 per cent in January, the lowest since March 2021, as the country gradually recovers with easing of restrictions following a decline in Omicron cases. Market participants also overlooked Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar asserted that the Union Budget lays the foundation for the country's long-term growth in the next 25 years. Kumar said the government is taking all possible measures to ignite private investments, which will be the best bet to pull the economy out of the shadows of the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, The data released by the government has indicated that India has received foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $54.10 billion in April-November period of the current financial year (FY22) . FDI equity inflows during April-November of FY22 was $39.26 billion. It was $43.85 billion during April-November 2020. Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 770.31 points or 1.29% to 58,788.02 and the CNX Nifty was down by 219.80 points or 1.24% to 17,560.20.