Opening Bell : Markets likely to make flat to negative start on Tuesday
Indian equity markets are likely to make flat to negative start on Tuesday as investors may remain cautious amid persistent fund outflows from foreign institutional investors who offloaded equities worth Rs 972.13 crore on Monday. Besides, investors are likely to remain on side-line ahead of release of key U.S. economic data as well as the minutes from the January FOMC meeting for more clues on U.S. Federal Reserves’ interest rate outlook.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
Indian team to visit U.S. next week to finalise legal text for interim trade pact: Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal has said that a team of Indian officials will visit the U.S. next week to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement, which is likely to be signed in March.
India’s exports rise marginally in January: The government data showed the country's exports rose marginally by 0.61 per cent to $36.56 billion in January, while trade deficit widened to a three-month high of $34.68 billion.
India's unemployment rises to 5% in January: A government survey showed that the rate of unemployment in India among persons aged 15 years and above rose slightly to 5 per cent in January this year from 4.8 per cent in December 2025.
US, EU trade deals could unlock $400 billion for India’s agri sector: The report has said that trade agreements with the US and the 27-nation bloc European Union (EU) have opened up an opportunity of $400 billion for India's agriculture sector.
Improving timely credit access to MSMEs remains key policy priority: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said that improving access to timely and adequate formal credit for MSMEs remains a key policy priority of the central bank.
On the global front: The US markets were closed on Monday on account of Presidents' Day. Japan's Nikkei is trading in red on Tuesday as holiday-thinned trading kept volumes light, with investors looking ahead to a fresh batch of economic data later this week for direction. Mainland China and Hong Kong are shut for Lunar New Year holidays.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks staged a decent rally on Monday, driven by strong buying interest in Power, Utilities and Realty stocks. Traders overlooked exchange data showed foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 7,395.41 crore on Friday. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 650.39 points or 0.79% to 83,277.15 and the CNX Nifty was up by 211.65 points or 0.83% to 25,682.75.
Some of the important factors in trade:
India, UK bond built on trust, collaboration, shared ambition: Expressing optimism over trade relation between India and UK, UK’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia Harjinder Kang has said that the both the countries share a dynamic and forward-looking partnership built on trust, collaboration, and shared ambition.
India-US agreement to include India’s energy requirements: Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the interim trade agreement reached between the Centre and the US will cover India’s energy requirements and enable the country to obtain crude oil at more competitive rates.
India's WPI inflation sees rise in January: India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation rose in the month of January 2026 at 1.81% as compared to 0.83% in December 2025, driven by higher prices of non-food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas and manufactured items.
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