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Indian markets scaled to all-time highs and ended the session at record closing highs on Monday as sentiments turned positive on crude oil prices declining to a one-year low. Today, benchmark indices are likely to start session in red amid largely negative cues from global markets. Traders will be concerned as SBI Research said India's economic growth for the July to September quarter may slow to 5.8 per cent, 30 basis points lower than average estimates, dragged down by weak manufacturing sector and steep corporate margin compression. It added corporate results, operating profit of companies, excluding banking and financial sector, degrew by 14 per cent in the fiscal second quarter, versus 35 per cent growth in the year-earlier period. However, some support may come as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released quarterly statistics on deposits and credit highlighting bank credit growth to 17.2 per cent on an annual basis in September from 14.2 per cent a quarter ago. Traders may take note of report that senior officials of India and the European Union (EU) on November 28 commenced the third round of talks on a proposed free trade agreement, which aims at boosting trade and investments between the two regions. Besides, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 935.88 crore on November 28, as per provisional data available on the NSE. There will be some buzz in the banking stocks as global rating agency Fitch said that bank credit growth in excess of 13 per cent year on year in FY23 could put pressure on core equity tier ratios (CET1) of banks, especially public sector lenders. It may limit the buffers of Indian banks to absorb potential future losses. Auto stocks will be in focus as credit rating agency Icra said passenger vehicle makers are expected to spend Rs 65,000 crore between FY23 and FY25, as companies ramp up outlay towards capacity expansion and new product development. There will be some reaction in aviation industry stocks with a private report that domestic airlines carried 409,831 passengers on November 27 - the highest since flights were resumed in May 2020. This is nearly 95 per cent of pre-Covid figure. Power stocks will be in limelight as the Power Ministry launched a scheme for the procurement of aggregate electricity of 4,500 MW for five years under of the SHAKTI (Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala Transparently in India) policy.

The US markets ended lower on Monday after protests in major Chinese cities against strict Covid-19 policies sparked concerns about economic growth, while Apple Inc slid on worries about a hit to iPhone production. Asian markets are trading mixed on Tuesday with investors watching developments in the unrest over China’s Covid restrictions.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks scaled to new record closing highs on Monday amid foreign fund inflows, a decline in crude oil prices and buying in index major Reliance Industries. Weakness in the global markets triggered a weak start however key gauges recovered quickly and inched gradually higher as the session progressed. Traders found solace as the RBI said in the second consecutive week of an increase in the kitty, India’s forex reserves have grown by $2.537 billion to $547.252 billion for the week ended November 18. Some support also came with Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s statement that the government expects good production of agriculture crops in the ongoing rabi (winter-sown) season on the back of higher sowing area and favourable soil moisture condition. Additional support came as the Centre released Rs 17,000 crore to the States and Union Territories as the balance compensation for the goods and services tax (GST) for the period, April-June 2022. Markets extended gains in afternoon deals, taking support from Credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings’ latest report stating that the global slowdown will have less impact on domestic demand-led economies such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines. It further said that in some countries the domestic demand recovery from COVID has further to go. This should support growth next year in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Some optimism also came as Fitch Ratings said India's bank credit will see strong growth in current financial year despite effects of higher interest rates. It said the strong loan growth should benefit net revenue, particularly as it will be coupled with wider net interest margins. But, key indices trimmed some of the gains towards the end, as some concern came after Sanjiv Sanyal, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister said India is capable of generating a 9 per cent growth rate but in view of the geopolitical situation, we should be satisfied with a 6.5-7 per cent economic expansion. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 211.16 points or 0.34% to 62,504.80 and the CNX Nifty was up by 50.00 points or 0.27% to 18,562.75.

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