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Indian markets ended higher with modest gains on Monday, reflecting gains in Europe and U.S. stock futures, as jitters in the banking sector eased. Today, start of the session is likely to be in green following positive cues from global peers. Some optimism will come as SBI Research in its latest Ecowrap report said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to pause their interest rate hike and the current 6.5 per cent repo rate could be the terminal rate for now. The next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for the first week of April 2023. Besides, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said India will be looking to push the rupee trade agenda in the G-20 meetings it is organising as part of its ongoing presidency of the forum. He added rupee trade will be of help, especially with those countries whose currencies are under pressure. However, there may be some cautiousness as FPIs returned to their old ways by selling shares to the tune of Rs 890 crore on March 27. Oil & gas, airline, auto and paint manufacturing companies will be in focus after oil prices jumped nearly 5 percent overnight to record their biggest gains in months amid Russia's threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus and the shutdown of the Iraq-Turkey pipeline at the request of the Turkish government. There will be some buzz in the real estate industry stocks with private report that real estate sector has received an equity capital of $32 billion during the last five years and is expected to attract $12-13 billion during 2023-24 with office assets likely to garner maximum fund. OMCs will be in focus as in a push for green mobility, the Centre sanctioned Rs 800 crore under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME II) to three public sector oil-marketing companies (OMCs) for setting up 7,432 public fast-charging stations across the country. There will be some reaction in aviation industry stocks with a private report that the Middle East and Asia-Pacific (MEAP) regions have transformed into a major international hub and are expected to account for 58 per cent of the global air passenger demand by 2040. Meanwhile, leading bourses NSE and BSE have said that Adani Green Energy will be put under the second stage of the long-term additional surveillance measure (ASM) framework from March 28.

The US markets ended mostly in green on Monday after reports of further government support for regional banks and the sale of SVB assets to First Citizens. Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Tuesday after US financial shares rose and Treasuries fell as fears of broader contagion from the banking turmoil eased.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks snapped a two-day losing streak to end higher in a volatile trade on Monday as global authorities took steps to contain the banking turmoil, helping dispel some of the contagion fears.  After a firm start, the markets extended gains as the day progressed, as traders took encouragement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that India will emerge as a ‘developed’ nation by 2047 with efforts of every single individual. He said the dream will turn into a reality with the hard work of every single individual of the country and the government is encouraging collective efforts. Also, foreign fund inflows aided domestic sentiments. Foreign investors have pumped Rs 7,200 crore into the Indian equities so far this month, mainly driven by bulk investment in the Adani Group companies by the US-based GQG Partners. Sentiments remained positive in afternoon deals, as S&P Global Ratings kept its forecast for India's economic growth unchanged at 6 per cent in the fiscal year starting April 1, before rising to 6.9 per cent in the following year. In the quarterly economic update for Asia-Pacific, S&P saw inflation rate easing to 5 per cent in 2023-24 fiscal, from 6.8 per cent in the current financial year.  Some support also came with the Reserve Bank stating that India’s forex kitty rose by $12.798 billion to $572.801 billion in the week ended March 17. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $2.39 billion to a three-month low of $560.003 billion. However, the fag-end selling dragged the markets off day’s high points. Traders also turned cautious as the government proposed hiking the securities transaction tax on Futures & Options (F&O) contracts, a move that will increase the trading costs in the derivatives segment as well as help in curbing excessive trades. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 126.76 points or 0.22% to 57,653.86 and the CNX Nifty was up by 40.65 points or 0.24% to 16,985.70.