First slip by equities in seven days; gilt yields at 3-year low 

Key Highlights:
•    Bharat Dynamics shares up 4% on ₹43.62-billion-order win from Defence Ministry 
•    Maruti Suzuki shares down over 1% on draft tax assessment order of close to ₹30 billion
•    HAL shares surge 3% as GE Aerospace delivers 1st engine for Tejas MK 1A 
•    Zerodha has no plans to go public, does not require additional capital: Nithin Kamath
•    Reliance pauses buying of Venezuelan oil after Trump’s tariff threat

Benchmark Indian equity indices ended their six-day winning streak to settle in the red today, amid broad-based selling. Concerns over the US President Trump imposing reciprocal tariffs from April 2, and a rise in oil prices were some factors that sparked profit booking in the market.

Oil prices climbed as supply concerns mounted following Trump’s threats of tariffs on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela.

BSE Midcap index shed 0.7% and Smallcap index was down 1.5%, reflecting in the negative market breadth.

SECTORAL PERFORMANCE 
The sectors with higher exposure to the US market, such as pharma and IT, witnessed some selling pressure. 

Barring Nifty Auto, all the other indices on the NSE ended lower.  Among them, the Nifty PSU Bank, IT, Financial Services, Healthcare, Realty, and Oil & Gas indices settled down over 1%. Nifty Auto managed to eke out a marginal gain of 0.02%.

Top Gainers	% Change	Top Losers	% Change
NIFTY AUTO	0.02%	NIFTY MEDIA	-2.40%
		NIFTY OIL & GAS	-1.36%
		NIFTY REALTY	-1.29%
		NIFTY HEALTHCARE INDEX	-1.28%
		NIFTY FINANCIAL SERVICES	-1.02%

Yields on 10-year Indian government bond yields slipped 4 basis points today, hitting lowest level in over three years on growing expectations of rate cuts in the next financial year.

The yield on the 10-year paper has eased by 10 basis points since March 17 on strong expectation of a dovish policy outcome on April 9.

Investors are also focusing on the government's borrowing plan for Apr-Oct. Finance Ministry and RBI officials met earlier in the day to decide the amount.

Tenure	Today	Previous
10-year gilts	6.60%	6.64%
5-year gilt	6.50%	6.52%
5-year OIS	5.93%	5.92%

The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar today despite a slight rise in the dollar and crude oil prices. Dollar sales by exporters and foreign bank aided the local currency today. 

The rupee has gained from dollar inflows spurred by repatriation of corporate profits and a revival in foreign portfolio investments in recent sessions. Overseas investors have bought more than $2 billion worth of Indian shares in the last four days, while month-to-date inflows into bonds stood over $3 billion.

Unit	Today	Previous
Dollar/Rupee	85.71	85.77
Dollar Index	103.93	103.83
1-year Dollar/rupee premium (%)	2.20%	2.22%

OUTLOOK
Indian equity markets are expected remain volatile amid a trip by an US delegation to India to finalise the tariff issue. Traders are also expected to remain cautious due to the F&O expiry. As Nifty closed below 23,600 level, weak sentiment is likely to continue.

The rupee is likely to stay supported on year-end dollar sales by exporters. The expected trading range for Tuesday is 85.50-86.00. 

Key Events & Data Due Thursday
Economic Data:

• US Weekly Jobless Claims Data
• US Oct-Dec GDP data
• US February Goods Trade Balance Data
• US February  Pending Home Sales Data

Corporate Actions:

• United Spirits board to consider dividend
• Hilton Metal Forging board to discuss fundraising plans
• Sundaram Finance board to discuss fundraising plans

Policy:

•  ECB's De Guindos Speaks
•  ECB's Schnabel Speaks
•  ECB President Lagarde Speaks