Indian equity markets are likely to make a cautious start on Monday following weakness in global markets amid escalating geopolitical tensions involving Russia and Ukraine, renewed US-Iran tensions, and elevated crude oil prices. However, some support may come from Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who turned buyers with net equity purchases of Rs 1,165.92 crore on October 16, 2026.
Some of the key factors to be watched:
India's exports grow across regions, led by Africa, ASEAN in April-August: The Commerce Ministry data has showed that India's merchandise exports recorded healthy growth across regions, including Africa, ASEAN and North-East Asia, in April-August this fiscal, reflecting the impact of market diversification initiatives.
India needs rapid economic reforms, structural changes to become developed nation by 2047: NITI Aayog vice chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri said India needs rapid economic reforms and structural changes to become a developed nation by 2047.
Jaishankar, Rubio to discuss energy, defence in Mumbai talks: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks on October 20 in Mumbai to bolster the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, with discussions expected to cover energy, trade, defence, critical and emerging technologies and several other key areas of bilateral cooperation.
Sitharaman, JBIC chief discuss clean energy, critical minerals and supply chains: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has met Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Governor Kazuhiko Amakawa and discussed expanding cooperation on clean energy, critical minerals, electric mobility and resilient supply chains.
India’s forex reserves decline by $8.578 billion to $726 billion: The RBI said India's forex kitty dropped by $8.57 billion to $726.02 billion during the week ended October 9. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $12.95 billion to $734.60 billion.
Global front: U.S. markets ended lower on Friday amid a renewed sell-off in technology stocks, driven by concerns over debt-fueled spending on AI infrastructure. Asian markets were trading mostly in red on Monday as investors awaited China's third-quarter GDP data.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks extended their upward momentum for the second consecutive session on Friday, driven by strong buying in IT stocks following robust quarterly earnings. Positive global trends, softer crude oil prices, and a strengthening rupee also supported market sentiment. However, continued foreign investor selling capped the upside. Finally, the BSE Sensex rose 413.66 points or 0.56% to 74,729.27 and the CNX Nifty was up by 148.80 points or 0.65% to 23,146.15.
Some of the important factors in trade:
India's retail inflation may top 6%, wholesale inflation 12% in October: India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has said that India's wholesale and retail inflation possibly will accelerate to over 12 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, in October due to an adverse base effect, unfavourable weather conditions and an energy price shock.
India's merchandise exports jump 23% in September: The commerce ministry in its latest data has showed that India’s merchandise exports rose by 23.05 per cent to $44.40 billion in September 2026 as compared to $36.08 billion in September 2025, driven by healthy growth in shipments of petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals.
India's current account deficit narrowed to $5.2 billion in August: RBI data showed that India's current account deficit narrowed to $5.2 billion in August from $6.1 billion a year ago, aided by a lower merchandise trade deficit and higher surpluses in services trade.
