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Indian markets ended volatile session on flat note of Friday, as concerns over record-high domestic daily COVID-19 cases in China offset investor optimism over a less hawkish Fed. Today, the start of new week is likely to be pessimistic tracking weakness in Asian peers. There will be some cautiousness as 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. However, some support may come later in the day 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. Foreign fund buying likely to aid domestic sentiments. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 369.08 crore on November 25, according to the provisional data available on the NSE. Traders may take note of 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. Meanwhile, the Centre has 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. There will be some buzz in pharma stocks as Udaya Bhaskar, Director General of Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) said pharmaceutical exports from India registered a growth of 4.22 per cent to reach $14.57 billion during the April-October period despite a negative trend last month. Road transport and highways sector stocks will be in focus as a government report showed that the road transport and highways sector has the maximum number of delayed projects at 243 out of 826 projects. There will be some reaction in gold industry stocks as data of the commerce ministry showed that gold imports, which have a bearing on the current account deficit, declined 17.38 per cent to about USD 24 billion during April-October due to fall in demand. Hospitals industry stocks will be in limelight as CRISIL MI&A Research expects the revenues of hospitals and nursing homes to grow by a healthy 13-18 per cent year on year in the current fiscal year (FY23) too, after a high optical growth of 25-27 per cent in FY22 owing to the low base of 2020-21 (FY21). In the primary market, new IPO of agrochemical company Dharmaj Crop Guard's will open for subscription. The price band of the issue is fixed at Rs 216-237 per share.

The US markets ended mostly lower on Friday with pressure from Apple Inc, while the dollar gained as investors shied away from risk as they worried about consumer spending. Asian markets are trading mostly in red on Monday as severe protests over China’s zero-Covid policy clouded investor sentiment.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks traded with volatility throughout the day and ended almost on a flat note on Friday amidst weak global cues and rising crude prices. After making cautious start, key gauges traded marginally lower in early deals as traders were cornered with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that the ongoing global uncertainty and recessionary trends could have some implications on India's exports. Some concern also came as the Centre said some states have pulled out of the flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for failure to pay their share of premium subsidy owing to financial constraints. It said it was willing to make additional pro-farmer changes to the scheme in response to the climate crisis. Some pessimism also came amid reports that the rupee is likely to remain under pressure next year and could even touch 85 against the US dollar. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February and the resultant spike in crude prices and supply chain disruptions, the rupee has been under tremendous pressure. The domestic currency had touched an all-time low of 83 against the dollar on October 19. However, markets erased initial losses and managed to end marginally in green, as Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran expressed hope that the economy will maintain the trend growth rate of 6.5 per cent and above for the rest of the years in the current decade. He added the economy will close the current fiscal logging in a growth of 6.5-7%. Some support also came as the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that India’s urban unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in urban areas dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter in the July-September period of 2022-23 (FY23) to 7.2% from 9.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 1,231.98 crore on November 24, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 20.96 points or 0.03% to 62,293.64 and the CNX Nifty was up by 28.65 points or 0.15% to 18,512.75.

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