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Indian equity markets are likely to make positive start on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of the president's sweeping global tariffs. Markets may witness volatility during the day as traders will adjust their position ahead of monthly expiry of F&O series on February 24.

Some of the key factors to be watched:

India, Mercosur to expand trade agreement: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is working to expand the preferential trade agreement with South-American nation bloc Mercosur to further promote trade and investment between the two regions.

India, US reschedule trade deal talks: The report said that India and the US have decided to reschedule the proposed meeting of their chief negotiators, supposed to be held in Washington later in a day, to finalise the text for the interim trade pact.  

India, Brazil sign MoU to strengthen MSME cooperation: India and Brazil signed an agreement to explore areas of mutual cooperation for the benefit of MSMEs and facilitate their access to green finance.

Core sector growth slows to 4% in January:  A government data showed that production growth of India's eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to a two-month low of 4 per cent in January. It was 5.1 per cent in January 2025 and 4.7 per cent in December 2025. 

RBI sold $10.02 billion in December to defend rupee:  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) net sold $10.02 billion in December due to high volatility in the Indian rupee amid geopolitical tensions and uncertainties over US tariffs.

On the global front: The US markets ended in green on Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of the president's sweeping global tariffs. Asian markets are trading in green on Monday following positive cues from US markets. 

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks, a day after a rout, staged a comeback to end higher on Friday after heavy buying in Power and Utilities shares amid optimism over trade deal progresses and India's participation in Pax Silica. However, gains remain capped amid resumption of FPI outflows from domestic markets. Foreign institutional investors offloaded equities worth Rs 880.49 crore on Thursday. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 316.57 points or 0.38% to 82,814.71 and the CNX Nifty was up by 116.90 points or 0.46% to 25,571.25.

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India’s private sector grows with composite PMI rising to 59.3 in February: According to the data report, the HSBC Flash India PMI Composite Output Index rose from 58.4 in January to 59.3 in February, indicating the strongest rate of expansion for three months.  

India's agri products, auto exports making greater inroads in EU: The Commerce Ministry data showed that India's exports of agricultural products and automobiles are making greater inroads into European markets (EU), recording healthy growth during April-December 2025.

India well positioned to be leader in AI: The former British prime minister Rishi Sunak has said that India is well positioned to be a leader in AI and demonstrate its mass adoption and deployment in society, supported by deep talent pool, strong digital public infrastructure, and very supportive public stance towards technology.

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