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Indian markets ended significantly higher on Monday as sentiments got boost from the massive victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, as well as the strength in global markets. Today, markets are likely to get cautious start amid mixed cues from Asian counterparts. There will be some cautiousness as the finance ministry in a report said India's economic outlook for the coming months is cautiously optimistic, with agriculture likely to benefit from favourable monsoon conditions, increased minimum support prices and adequate supply of inputs. Also, it said India’s export recovery may face challenges due to softening demand in developed markets. However, overnight fall in in crude oil prices likely to keep down side in check. Oil prices dropped sharply on Monday following reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to terms for a ceasefire to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Besides, foreign institutional investors turned net buyers in Indian markets on Monday, provisional exchange data showed, snapping a record selling streak that had partly caused the country's benchmark indexes to confirm corrections earlier this month. FIIs were net buyers of stocks worth Rs 9,948 crore ($1.18 billion), after 38 consecutive sessions of being net sellers during which outflows totalled to about $16.5 billion. Some support will come as a government report said India expects food inflation to slow in the coming months, backed by a bumper summer crop harvest. Meanwhile, India’s formal job creation kept pace in the first half of the year, with new additions across the three social security schemes rising compared with the previous year's similar period, despite September numbers showing a further dip in formal job additions. New enrollments to the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme, which applies to larger organisations and better-paid employees, rose 2.3 percent in H1FY25 from a similar period last year, adding 6.1 million employees. Tourism industry related stocks will be in focus as the government said the contribution of tourism sector to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2022-23 stood at five per cent. In a written response in the Lok Sabha, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also said that in 2023, the total foreign tourist arrivals stood at 9.52 million. There will be some reaction in Adani group stocks with a private report that Andhra Pradesh state is reviewing and may cancel power supply contract linked to the Adani Group. Pharma stocks will be in limelight with a private report that major pharmaceutical companies of the country reported a 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in the second quarter of FY25, largely driven by strong performance in North America and the domestic market.

The US markets ended higher on Monday as markets cheered President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. Asian markets are trading mixed on Tuesday failing to follow Wall Street's record-breaking rally.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks extended their gains for a second straight day on Monday buoyed by boosted investor sentiment following the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly election results. Markets opened with a gap-up and traded higher throughout the day as traders took encouragement with report that the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), signed in March 2024 between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, is poised to unlock new opportunities for Indian exports and drive investments worth $100 billion. Some support also came as Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh stated that from being led, India is today in a position to lead others across the world and this is amply borne out by recent success stories accomplished under PM Narendra Modi including Space sector headway, Biotechnology Vaccine breakthroughs and CSIR Purple Revolution. However, markets trimmed some of their gains in late afternoon deals, as global geopolitical uncertainty, coupled with the continued selling by foreign investors weighted on investors' sentiment. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are on course to turn net sellers in Indian stock markets for the second straight month through November, after having remained net buyers four months on a trot until September. So far in November, FPIs have sold stocks worth Rs 26,533 crore in India. Some cautiousness also came as the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined $17.76 billion, the sharpest weekly fall, to hit a four-month low of $657.8 billion for the week ended November 15. But, markets ended higher with gains of over one percent each helped by a surge in Industrials, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas stocks. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 992.74 points or 1.25% to 80,109.85, and the CNX Nifty was up by 314.65 points or 1.32% to 24,221.90.

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