Powell To Speak, PMI Print, ECB Rate Decision, US Tariffs — The Week Ahead

The week ahead is expected to be news heavy, with most markets across the world being under pressure.

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech, European Central Bank's interest rate decision, and US Manufacturing PMI are to be released in the coming week.

On the domestic front, a lacklustre week for the initial public offerings is expected, with only small and medium enterprise offerings on tap and no major mainboard listings.

Topping the week off, the US jobs report will be released on Friday, a crucial indicator for the Fed. It is expected that US will levy tariffs on Mexico and Canada in the coming week. In addition, US President Donald Trump has added fresh duties on import of Chinese goods.

In India, the NSE Nifty 50 index last week recorded its longest monthly losing streak in 28 years, falling for the fifth consecutive month, a trend not seen since November 1996. In the coming week, analysts expect Nifty 50 to be around 22,600.

"Weak sentiment persists due to slowing growth, declining earnings, and foreign outflows. Global uncertainties, including Trump's tariff announcements, have further dampened risk appetite," according to Choice Broking.

Markets This Week

The benchmark indices ended the week and the month with heavy losses on Friday, with the NSE Nifty 50 falling to the lowest level since June 5. During the week, the markets remained largely volatile, inclining towards losses as multiple sectors took sharp cuts, including cable and wires, metal and realty among other.

The Nifty 50 ended 420.35 points or 1.86% lower at 22,124.70, while the BSE Sensex closed 1,414.33 points or 1.9% down at 73,198.10.

In February, over 450 of the Nifty 500 stocks experienced declines, marking a challenging month for the market.

All sectoral indices posted losses, with the Realty and IT sectors being the hardest hit. The Nifty Realty index had its worst month since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, while the Nifty IT recording its worst performance in 35 months, since April 2022. The Nifty FMCG recorded longest the losing streak in 18 years.

Domestic Cues

S&P Global will release the Nikkei S&P Global Manufacturing PMI on Monday. In addition, the Reserve Bank of India will release foreign reserve data on Friday.

Global Cues

Global markets have been under pressure and showing volatility amid geopolitical anxiety. While US stocks shook off another bout of volatility as S&P 500 rose 1.6% Friday, trimming its February losses. Nasdaq 100 rose over 1.6% and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.4%.

Fed Chair Powell is set to deliver a speech next Friday. This will be one of the key events tracked, in addition to the release of Fed monetary policy report. US unemployment data, PMI and initial jobless claims are among other important data releases in the coming week.

In addition, Europe will announce its consumer price inflation figures and benchmark lending rates. China and Japan are also to announce their PMI data in the coming week.

Primary Market Action

The upcoming week will witness muted activity in the primary markets with no offerings on the mainboard space. There will be two small and medium enterprises offerings through the week where as three SMEs will be listing in the coming week.

Balaji Phosphates Ltd. and NAPS Global India Ltd are the offerings that are set to close this week with the former also listing. Beezasan Explotech Ltd., Nukleus Office Solutions Ltd, Shreenath Paper Products Ltd, will also be listing this week.

Balaji Phosphates' public offering is a book-built issue of Rs 50.11 crore. The IPO is set to close on March 4, after opening on Feb.28, and will list on March 7. The price band for the IPO is set at Rs 66 to Rs 70 per share.

NAPS Global India had a fixed price issue of Rs 11.88 crore. The issue comprises 13.20 lakh shares and is a fresh issue. The IPO will be open for subscription from March 4 to 6. The allotment is expected to be finalized on March 7 and listing on the BSE SME is scheduled for March 11.

Nukleus Office Solutions has launched an initial public offering worth Rs 31.70 crores, comprising a fresh issue of 13.55 lakh shares. The company is scheduled to list on the BSE SME platform on March 4.

Shreenath Paper Products has launched an initial public offering worth Rs 23.36 crores, comprising a fresh issue of 53.10 lakh shares. The IPO is scheduled to list on the BSE SME platform on March 5.

Corporate Action

Shares of SBI Life Insurance Company, Castrol India, DIC India and Aayush Wellness will turn ex-date for the issue of interim dividends. Meanwhile, shares of IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Mehai Technology, Coastal Corporation will turn ex-date for its stock split.

The table below shows the full list of corporate actions for the upcoming week.