Indian stock market: The domestic equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are expected to open higher on Monday, tracking gains in global markets, and after a sharp fall seen last week.

Asian markets traded mixed, while the US stock market ended higher last Friday, led by technology stocks.

This week, investors will monitor some key stock market triggers, including monthly auto sales, Donald Trump's tariff announcements, the rupee-dollar rate, flow of foreign funds, domestic and global macroeconomic data, and other key global market cues.

On Friday, the Indian stock market witnessed its worst intraday performance of this year so far, with both the benchmark indices sinking nearly 2% each.

The Sensex crashed 1,414.33 points, or 1.90%, to close at 73,198.10, while the Nifty 50 settled 420.35 points, or 1.86%, lower at 22,124.70.

"Nifty 50 has fallen almost 6% in February, its fifth consecutive month of decline. We expect the market to continue to trade with weakness due to weak global sentiments and lack of domestic triggers," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Research, Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.

Here are key global market cues for Sensex today:

Asian Markets

Asian share markets dithered on Monday as the threat of imminent tariffs lurked in the background.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat, though Japan's Nikkei rose 1.1%, while the broader Topix index gained 1.12%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening. South Korean markets are closed for a public holiday.

Gift Nifty Today

Gift Nifty was trading around 22,365 level, a premium of nearly 85 points from the Nifty futures' previous close, indicating a positive start for the Indian stock market indices.

Wall Street

US stock market ended higher on Friday after a choppy trading session, after a contentious meeting between the US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.39% to 43,840.91, while the S&P 500 rose 1.59% to end at 5,954.50. The Nasdaq closed 1.63% higher at 18,847.28.

Nvidia share price gained 3.87%, while Tesla stock price rose 3.94%, Dell shares dropped 4.7% and HP Inc stock declined 6.8%.

US PCE Index

The US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure cooled slightly in January. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index increased 0.3% in January after advancing by an unrevised 0.3% in December. Economists had expected the PCE price index to climb 0.3%. In the 12 months through January, prices rose 2.5% after increasing 2.6% in December.

US Consumer Spending

US consumer spending unexpectedly fell in January. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, dropped 0.2% last month after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in December. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending gaining 0.1% after a previously reported 0.7% surge in December,

Trump - Zelenskyy Meet

A meeting between the US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended in disaster. Zelenskyy and Trump traded verbal blows at the White House before the world's media which created fresh uncertainty over Ukraine's war with Russia. Zelenskyy left the White House without signing a much-vaunted deal between Ukraine and the US over the joint development of natural resources.

India GDP Growth

India's economy grew by 6.2% in the October-December 2024 quarter, marginally below expectations but faster than in the previous quarter. The growth in India's GDP (gross domestic product) was slightly lower than the RBI's estimate of 6.8% and as against 5.8% growth in the previous quarter.

Fiscal Deficit

India's fiscal deficit for the April-January period of financial year 2024-25 stood at ₹11.70 lakh crore, 74.5% of the estimate for 2024-25. The latest figure is higher than the ₹11.03 lakh crore registered a year ago, which was 63.6% of the estimates for 2023-24.

Core Sector growth

India core sector growth held steady in January, but eased slightly from December. The eight core sectors, spanning coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity rose 4.6% in January, marginally lower than the 4.8% in December but a tad higher than the 4.2% recorded in January last year.

Auto Sales

Maruti Suzuki reported marginal growth while Hyundai Motor India and Tata Motors posted a decline in their auto sales in February as a slowdown in the market continued with demand remaining muted. On the other hand, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) posted double-digit growth riding on their SUV and MPV models.

GST Collection

India's gross goods and services tax (GST) collections rose 9.1% to ₹183,646 crore in February 2025. On a gross basis, mop-up from the central GST stood at ₹35,204 crore, state GST at ₹43,704 crore, integrated GST at ₹90,870 crore, and compensation cess at ₹13,868 crore in the month under review.

Japan PMI

Japan's factory activity shrank for an eighth consecutive month in February. The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose slightly to 49.0 from 48.7 in January, indicating the softest contraction in three months.

Bitcoin Prices

Bitcoin prices surged on news it would be included in a new US strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies. US President Donald Trump announced five digital assets he expected to include in a new reserve, including bitcoin, ether, XRP, solana and cardano.

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose more than 11% to $94,110, while ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, climbed 14% to $2,528.

Crude Oil Prices

Crude oil traded higher after sliding last week. Brent crude oil gained 0.99% to $73.53 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.97% to $70.44.

Gold Prices Today

Gold prices traded higher on Monday, helped by a weaker US dollar and rising fears of a global trade war stoking inflation. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,868.29 an ounce, while US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,880.70.