Equities End Flat; Rupee Breaks Nine-Day Winning Streak 

Highlights 
• Star Health shares hits 52-week low as IRDAI finds lapses in claim settlement practices
• Punjab & Sind Bank shares rally after the bank launches QIP at floor price of ₹40.38/share
• BMW Industries gains 10% on MoU with steel ministry for specialty steel under PLI scheme
• India eyes tariff cut on $23 billion of US imports
• IndusInd Bank likely to tap Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder to shortlist candidates for top jobs

The benchmark indices continued their winning streak for the seventh consecutive session today. Broader markets faced pressure as the NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 1:4. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 slipped 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively

Profit booking further weighed on sentiment, but a resilient IT sector, the sole gainer, helped the Nifty 50 to close in green.

SECTORAL PERFORMANCE 
Of the 13 indices, 12 out traded lower. Nifty IT emerged as the sole gainer, rising over 1%, driven by gains in Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, and Wipro. 

Nifty Pharma, Metal, Oil and Gas and PSU Bank were the biggest laggards, Nifty Auto, Consumer Durables, and Realty fell up to 1% each.

Top Gainers	% Change	Top Losers	% Change
NIFTY IT	1.32%	NIFTY CONSUMER DURABLES	-1.9%
NIFTY FINANCIAL SERVICES	1.10%	NIFTY PSU BANK	-1.7%
		NIFTY MEDIA	-1.6%
		NIFTY REALTY	-1.5%
		NIFTY METAL	-1.4%

Yields on 10-year government bonds ended slightly higher after states raised the quantum of their planned borrowing to a record high. States raised ₹722.55 billion through bonds today, the largest amount borrowed via a single auction. However, record state debt auction was easily absorbed by the market. 

Reports said a large provident fund, some pension funds, and a few insurance companies, drove demand for the state debt auction.
The RBI today bought gilts worth ₹445.41 billion against a target of ₹500 billion notified.

Tenure	Today	Previous
10-year Gilt	6.64%	6.63%
5-year gilt	6.52%	6.51%
5-year OIS	5.92%	5.90%

The Indian rupee snapped a nine-session winning streak against the greenback today as the US dollar index and crude oil prices rose. 
The Indian rupee fell also as importers stepped in to hedge liabilities at favourable levels. The rupee had risen about 2% this month.
Crude oil prices extended gains through Asia session to Europe trade hours as demand worries weighed on investors. US President Donald Trump said that he will impose 25% tariff on countries who are importing oil from Venezuela. While, the dollar index rose as strong US purchasing managers' index data pushed up US yields higher.

Unit	Today	Previous
Dollar/Rupee	85.77	85.64
Dollar Index	103.85	103.94
1-year Dollar/rupee premium (%)	2.22%	2.22%

OUTLOOK
Equity investors are expected to remain cautious as they await clarity on trade policy between the US and India, and attention is shifting towards the quarterly results, which is anticipated to shed light on the recovery in earnings growth. 

Favourable indicators, such as expected rate cuts and rupee movements, continue to support the market sentiment. 

The rupee may remain under pressure on Wednesday as market approach the last date of month-end. The range 85.50 to 86.25 is expected, slightly wide, as some dollar buying expected on Wednesday. 

Key Events & Data Due Wednesday
Economic Data:
 - US February Durable Goods Orders Data
 - US Weekly Crude Oil Inventories Data

Corporate Actions:
 - Integra Essentia board to discuss fundraising plans
 - MSTC board to consider dividend

Policy:
- FOMC Member Kashkari Speaks