Indian equity markets are likely to make negative start on Tuesday tracing weak cues from Wall Street overnight. Investors are likely to remain on side-line ahead of monthly F&O expiry today. However, investors may take some support as Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on February 23, purchasing equities worth Rs 3,483.70 crore. 

Some of the key factors to be watched:

New CPI series to reduce volatility in headline inflation: Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that the new CPI inflation series based on 2024 prices will better reflect Indian households' consumption patterns and reduce volatility.

No PSU Bank merger roadmap: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government does not have any roadmap for mergers of public sector banks. However, a High-Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat, proposed in the Budget 2026-27, will look into the topic and other aspects.

Govt cuts duty benefits for exporters under RoDTEP scheme by 50%: The government halved the rate of duty benefits under the export support scheme, RoDTEP, prompting the exporting community to seek a reconsideration of the decision.

Funds for MSME exporters' international approvals: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government will fund a large part of the costs incurred by micro and small exporters to obtain international approvals for complying with regulations such as REACH and CBAM in Europe to help them boost shipments. 

Govt monitoring gold imports closely: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed rising gold prices to heavy purchases by central banks globally, and said the government and RBI are keeping a close watch on the precious metals' imports, though they are not at an ‘alarming proportion’.

On the global front: The US markets ended in red on Monday amid renewed trade uncertainty following the Supreme Court's decision last Friday striking down most of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Tuesday despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight.    

Back home, extending gains for a second consecutive session, Indian equity benchmarks ended over half percent higher on Monday tracking gains in Healthcare, Power and Auto stocks, as investors' sentiments improved after the US Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's sweeping tariffs. However, foreign fund outflows, coupled with geopolitical concerns, capped further gains. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 479.95 points or 0.58% to 83,294.66 and the CNX Nifty was up by 141.75 points or 0.55% to 25,713.00. 

Some of the important factors in trade:

Growth in eight key infrastructure sectors eases to 4% in January: The Ministry of Commerce & Industry in its latest data has showed that the output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4 per cent in January 2026 as compared to 5.1 per cent in the same month last year. 

India unveils 7 additional interventions under EPM to strengthen global competitiveness: With an aim to address key challenges faced by Indian exporters, promote broad-based and inclusive export growth, the government has launched seven additional interventions under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM). 

India, Brazil sign agreement to support MSMEs, green finance: India and Brazil have entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore areas of mutual collaboration for the benefit of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and facilitate their access to green finance.