Sensex, Nifty Seen Opening Up As BJP Sweeps Delhi Elections

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are seen opening on a positive note Monday after the BJP won a resounding victory in Delhi, capturing 48 of 70 assembly seats and reclaiming control of the national capital after a gap of 27 years.

The upside, however, may be capped by continued foreign fund outflows and rising fears of a brewing global trade war.

Global cues, Q3 earnings and retail inflation data may sway markets as the week progresses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the United States this week for talks with President Donald Trump, with issues like defense cooperation, trade relations, and countering China's growing economic and military influence on top of the agenda.

Asian markets were mixed this morning ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's semi-annual congressional testimony due this week.

Commodity currencies treaded lower after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will announce 25 percent tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum.

The dollar rallied against most major currencies and gold ticked higher while oil steadied after a string of weekly declines as the U.S. government imposed new sanctions on Iran's crude exports.

U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday amid fresh tariff and inflation jitters as President Trump announced plans for reciprocal tariffs to match those imposed on the U.S. by its trading partners.

Meanwhile, the latest jobs report painted a mixed picture, with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4 percent while fewer jobs than expected were added in January.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by 143,000 jobs last month, significantly lower than the revised 307,000 in December and missing forecast of 169,000.

A gauge of U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in February, but one-year inflation expectations moved up to 4.3 percent from 3.3 percent -- the highest reading since 2023.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 1.4 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both lost around 1 percent.

European stocks closed lower on Friday as investors reacted to a flurry of earnings reports, U.S. jobs data and the U.S.-China trade spat.

The pan European STOXX 600 dipped 0.4 percent. The German DAX shed half a percent, France's CAC 40 gave up 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE eased 0.3 percent.