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Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1% on Monday, with big technology stocks creating the biggest drag as investors worried about demand for technology supporting artificial intelligence while they waited for results from market heavyweight Nvidia. The S&P 500 closed slightly lower, marking its third straight day of declines, while the Dow managed to eke out a tiny gain. It was also Nasdaq's third consecutive loss and its fourth daily drop of more than 1% so far in February.

ONGC, NTPC, SBI Life, Manappuram Finance, Biocon among others will be in focus due to various news developments. ONGC ONGC has approved an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in its wholly owned subsidiary ONGC Green via rights issue.

«Given the current scenario, we maintain a negative outlook on the index and recommend a „sell on rise“ strategy. However, individual stocks continue to present trading opportunities on both sides, and participants should adjust their focus accordingly,» said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.

Asian stocks started on a risk-off mood Tuesday after US President Donald Trump’s move to curb Chinese investments and proceed with tariffs on Canada and Mexico prompted investors to trim positions. A decline in US stocks at the end of trading also hurt sentiment. Shares in Australia and Japan opened lower while futures pointed to a 2% drop in Hong Kong. A gauge of Chinese shares in the US had its biggest drop in more than four months after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s American depositary receipts closed down 10%, the biggest decline since October 2022. The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid 1 basis point to 4.4% in early Asian trading while gold touched a record Monday.

Monster Hunter Wilds, falls short of expectations on consoles, facing image quality and performance issues on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, according to technical analysts.

The Trump administration's tariff policies may raise auto insurance premiums for motorists, according to a new Insurify analysis. This at a time when drivers continue to see costs soar amid pandemic-era inflation.

Investor Behaviour Index (IBI) 2025, released by StockGro in collaboration with 1Lattice, 45% of Indians under 35 now prefer stocks as their primary investment choice “Notably, 45% of young Indians (under 35) now prefer stocks as their primary investment choice, signaling a shift towards direct equity investments over traditional savings instruments. This preference is driven by increased financial awareness, improved access to investment tools, and a growing appetite for long-term wealth creation,” said a press release by StockGro.

These high-performing stocks that rallied more than 10% during the session included, Apollo Pipes (13.65%), Kimia Biosciences(13.60%), Trio Mercantile(13.40%), Medi-Caps Ltd(12.30%), Indian Hume Pipe(12.09%), Sonal Mercantile(11.78%), Brand Concepts(11.50%), DIC India Ltd(10.35%), ETT Ltd(10.14%) and Sanrhea Tech(10.00%).

Pi Network officially launched its Open Mainnet on February 20, 2025, transitioning from a closed ecosystem to full decentralization. The launch triggered significant price fluctuations, with Pi Coin surging to $1.97 before plunging to $0.737, then rebounding 80% to $1.29. As of February 24, 2025, it trades at around $1.55, with a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $1.18 billion.

Natco Pharma Ltd.(up 2.52 per cent), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(up 1.95 per cent), Laurus Labs Ltd.(up 1.73 per cent), Granules India Ltd.(up 1.56 per cent) and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.(up 1.22 per cent) were among the top gainers.

«So, there is uncertainty. I definitely agree. And as you said that there is de-globalisation, there is a tariff threat which is there,» says Milind Karmarkar, Dalal & Broacha. Last time when we met, there were excesses. There were excesses in the small and the midcaps. There were excesses on the upside, but are there excesses on the downside now? Milind Karmarkar: So, it is like this. Yes, the market has corrected and normally, whenever the market corrects, it corrects very viciously and that is what has happened. How long it will continue, I really do not know. But do I see upside from here? Yes, I do see an upside. And this is not the end of the bull market, as you say. There is a lot more still going to happen. And as I think Templeton has said, I do not remember, that whenever there is blood on the street and even if it is your own blood, that is the time to buy, so that I think will answer the question.

IPO of HP Telecom India was subscribed 51% as of 10:21 AM on the final bidding day, Monday. The IPO opened for bidding on February 20, 2025, and closes on February 24, 2025. The retail portion of the issue was subscribed by 44%, while the issue was subscribed by 58% in the non-institutional investors category on the final day of bidding.

Pfizer zoomed 8.6% to a high of Rs 4,448.35 on the BSE today after the company on Friday announced that it has entered into a marketing and supply agreement with Mylan Pharmaceuticals. This agreement is regarding the sales and marketing of two brands of the company (Pfizer), Ativan and Pacitane.

ICICI Securities has a hold call on Utkarsh Small Finance Bank with a target price of Rs 26.The current market price of Utkarsh Small Finance Bank is Rs 27.1. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, incorporated in 2016, is a banking company with a market cap of Rs 2970.82 crore. Utkarsh SFB, key products/revenue segments include Interest & Discount on Advances & Bills, Income From Investment, Interest On Balances with RBI and Other Inter-Bank Funds and Interest for the year ending 31-Mar-2024.

Ajay Bagga, Market Expert, says the market now predominantly favours long positions in gold, emerging market debt, US equities, and Chinese technology stocks. These four investment strategies are currently popular on a global scale, yet none appear to adequately account for the potential impact of Trump’s tariffs. Bagga says the market appears somewhat complacent. The true implications will likely become clearer in the next two to three months. April 1st is expected to be a crucial date, as it marks the beginning of announcements regarding the implementation of tariffs, followed by additional updates starting April 2nd. A lot of these news plays are flowing around with respect to the threat related to tariff, the emerging market flows etc. What is your view on the broader market space and any pockets of opportunity that you are spotting right now because though the consensus view or the buy is in the largecap space, does any niche pocket within the broader market look interesting to you? Ajay Bagga: Right now, no. I would say let us hold on for the broader markets right now. Overall if you see the global macro, what are the global bond markets telling you, what are the global currency markets telling you, stock markets are still complacent, they are not believing the Trump threats, the Trump strategy is to shock, then negotiate, then come to a deal which might be a one-tenth or one-twentieth of the original ask.

Navneet Munot, MD & CEO, HDFC AMC, says they have collaborated with all ecosystem partners, including KRAs, depositories, exchanges, and banks. Their efforts are focused on making this initiative sustainable, with the aim of encouraging individuals to maintain their Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) over the course of several years. On Rs 250 per month SIPs Navneet Munot: Indian mutual fund industry has 5.3 crore unique investors. This number needs to multiply over the next several years and what we have tried to do today is to reduce the ticket size of the per month SIP, bringing it down to Rs 250 where every fund house will bring down the minimum ticket size of the SIP in certain funds to 250.

Manappuram Finance shares will be in focus on Monday as talks between the company and American private equity major Bain Capital reach the final stage. Bain is expected to acquire a significant portion of the promoter stake in India’s second-largest gold loan provider, sources said. The promoter group, led by Managing Director and CEO Nandakumar VP, currently owns 35.25% of Manappuram, which has a market capitalization of Rs 17,000 crore, based on its closing share price of Rs 200.85 on the BSE on Friday.

The muted GMP is in line with the trend seen in IPOs in the recent past, where many companies are struggling to find enough premium in the grey market.

Friedrich Merz was set to become Germany's next chancellor after his party emerged victorious in Sunday's election, though he faces complex and lengthy coalition negotiations after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged to a historic second place in a fractured vote.

Gold prices steadied near an all-time high on Monday, supported by concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans, while focus shifted to a key U.S. inflation report due later this week.