Indian Markets Brace for Cautious Opening

On Monday, India’s primary market indexes are anticipated to exhibit minimal change at the open. Subdued earnings reports from Infosys, along with fragile global market sentiments, are poised to potentially counteract the impact of stronger-than-anticipated quarterly results from both HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.

As of 7:50 a.m. IST, Gift Nifty futures traded at 23,823.5, signaling a potential 0.1% decrease for the Nifty 50 from its previous closing value of 23,851.65 on Thursday.

Across Asia, equity markets and U.S. stock futures experienced slight declines in early trading. This dip reflects growing unease concerning tariffs and U.S. President Donald Trump’s public critique of the Federal Reserve, both of which have negatively impacted market confidence.

Concurrently, the U.S. dollar’s continued depreciation is expected to encourage foreign capital inflows into the Indian market.

According to VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments, foreign portfolio investors have demonstrated net buying activity in India over the past three trading sessions. This trend is attributed to the weaker dollar and expectations of enhanced growth prospects within India, despite prevailing global uncertainties.

During this earnings season, stock-specific actions are expected to remain highly visible in the market.

Over the weekend, both HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank disclosed earnings for the March quarter that surpassed market expectations.

Shares of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank saw increases of 7.2% and 5.5%, respectively, during the prior week. These gains propelled the stocks to record highs, driven by forecasts of improved net interest margins in the medium term and optimistic earnings outlooks.

The strength in financial stocks drove Indian benchmarks to achieve their best weekly performance in more than four years.

However, Infosys, a major player in the information technology sector, reported fourth-quarter revenue figures that fell short of estimates. The company also projected a subdued fiscal year 2026, citing global economic instability, tariff-related disruptions, and cautious spending among clients as factors weighing on the sector’s prospects.