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Indian equity markets are likely to make negative start on Monday, amid mixed cues from global markets. Traders are likely to adopt wait-and-watch ahead of release of the HSBC Composite PMI Final data. Additionally, some cautiousness may come after foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 1,583.37 crore on a net basis on Friday.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India's Forex reserves drop by $2.3 billion to $700.2 billion: RBI data showed that India's forex reserves dropped by $2.33 billion to $700.23 billion during the week ended September 26. 

India, Singapore discuss ways to boost trade, investments: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who was on a three-day official visit to Singapore, met businesses and leaders to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade and investments between the two countries.

Joint ventures, tech collaboration can help narrow India's trade deficit with Qatar: Think tank GTRI said that joint ventures in energy infrastructure, technology collaboration, and cross-border investments can help reduce India's trade deficit with Qatar.

India, EU to begin next round of talks for trade pact in Brussels: Senior officials of India and the 27-nation European Union (EU) will commence the next round of talks for a proposed free trade agreement, on October 11, 2025, in Brussels to iron out differences on issues for early conclusion of the negotiations.

India, Australia to ink pacts during Defence Minister's visit to Canberra: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will undertake a two-day visit to Australia beginning October 9, 2025 to explore new and meaningful initiatives to further expand bilateral defence and strategic ties.

On the global front: The US markets ended mostly in green on Friday, supported by strong gains made by UnitedHealth (UNH), Travelers (TRV) and Caterpillar (CAT). Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Monday, as investors pondered over the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies. 

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks traded range-bound but managed to end in the green for the second day in a row on Friday, propelled by buying in metal, Industrials and Telecom stocks and a rally in global markets. However, persistent foreign fund outflows and the ongoing US visa fee hike issue restricted further gains. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 223.86 points or 0.28% to 81,207.17 and the CNX Nifty was up by 57.95 points or 0.23% to 24,894.25.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India's capacity to absorb external shocks is strong: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that India's capacity to absorb external shocks is strong at a time when the world economy is undergoing a structural transformation. 

India, EFTA trade pact comes into force: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the free trade agreement between India and the four European nations bloc EFTA has come into force. He also said the pact will unlock new opportunities for trade, investment and job creation, benefiting people and businesses.

GST collection rises 9% in September: Gross GST collection rose 9.1 per cent to over Rs 1.89 lakh crore in September on the back of increased sales due to rate rationalisation, as per government data. GST mop-up was Rs 1.73 lakh crore in September 2024.

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