Indian equity markets have prolonged the lull for third straight day and finished the session on a dull note, marginally below the neutral line as investors refrained from making big bets ahead of March quarter earnings, which begins later this week. Besides, tensions around the Middle East and the Korean peninsula send jitters across emerging markets with stocks extending losses for a third day and currencies weakening against the dollar. Indian rupee dropped by 32 paise to 64.60 against the dollar due to growing safe haven appeal for the American currency owing to higher chances of a tighter US monetary policy. Investors also remained cautious ahead of key economic numbers - industrial production (IIP) data for February and consumer inflation for March due to be released on Wednesday. The downside risk for the frontline indices was limited by reports that foreign investors have pumped in a staggering $2.45 billion in capital markets in the last four trading sessions. This comes following a record net inflow of Rs 56,944 crore ($8.7 billion) last month, mainly on expectations that BJP's victory in recently held assembly polls would lead to faster reforms. Some support also came with CII Business Confidence Index released during the weekend, which said that India Inc.'s perceptions about the state of the economy slid in the last quarter of 2016-17, yet industry's confidence levels about the future have peaked to their highest level in more than six years. Meanwhile, Liquor stocks such as United Spirits, Radico Khaitan, Associated Alcohols & Breweries, Tilaknagar Industries and Globus Spirits came under selling pressure after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that all liquor shops would be closed across the state in a phased manner. Finally, the BSE Sensex decreased 130.87 points or 0.44% to 29575.74, while the CNX Nifty was down by 16.85 points or 0.18% to 9,181.45.

The US markets closed higher on Monday, as strength in energy shares helped to offset selling pressure sparked by geopolitical concerns, but market sentiment remained cautious going into the first-quarter earnings season. Increased tension in the Middle East tends to boost oil prices by limiting supply levels. The worries were over the situation on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of unconfirmed reports that China is moving large number of troops to its border with North Korea. According to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey released showed that measures of US inflation expectations dropped to their lowest levels in four months in March, reversing a brief run-up that could temper hopes for broader price pressure. The survey of consumer expectations, an increasingly influential gauge of prices for the US central bank, showed that both year-ahead and three-year-ahead expectations fell to 2.7 percent, from 3 percent in February. The measurements rose through December and January to their highest levels since mid-2015, before flattening in February and declining last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.92 points or 0.01 percent to 20,658.02, the Nasdaq was up 3.12 points or 0.05 percent to 5,880.93, while S&P 500 gained 1.62 points or 0.07 percent to 2,357.16.

Crude oil futures continued their upmove amid concerns about geopolitical tension. Lingering geopolitical concerns after last Friday's gains after the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian airbase, kept supporting the crude prices. Although, Syria is no longer a significant oil producer, it neighbors and has relationships with big oil producers in the oil-rich region. Also, production halted at Libya's largest oilfield for the second time in as many weeks while rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East lifted sentiment. Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery gained $0.84 to $53.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for May delivery ended higher by $0.70 at $55.95 on the ICE.

After hitting 20-month high, Indian rupee weakened against dollar on Monday, due to growing safe haven appeal for the American currency on increased geo-political risks and higher chances of a tighter US monetary policy. Besides, investors remained cautious with Fitch ratings' report that the government's excessive backing to banks in order to deal with stressed assets and loose macro-economic policy that could stoke inflation, would prove ‘negative' for Indian economy. Moreover, losses in the domestic equity markets also weighed on the rupee sentiments. On the global front, Britain's sterling rose against dollar on Monday, clawing up from a three-week low ahead of a packed week of data expected to show a tightening squeeze on the country's consumers.Finally, the rupee ended at 64.56, 30 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.26 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net sellers in equity segment, while they were net buyers in debt segment. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 5199.54 crore against gross selling of Rs 5341.28 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1246.29 crore with gross sales of Rs 500.35 crore.

The US markets managed a modestly positive close in last session despite a lackluster day of trade. There was nothing much on economic front and traders were eyeing reports on retail sales, producer and consumer prices, and import and export prices later this week. The Asian markets have made mostly a soft start and many of the indices are down by around half a percent, as Chinese shares slumped and the yen weighed on Japanese equities. The Indian markets posted loss of another around half a percent in the very beginning of the week, with Nifty slipping below crucial 9200 mark, as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula weighed down the sentiment. Today, the start is likely to be soft tailing the weak regional cues and rising geopolitical tensions. Meanwhile, the government has said there is no proposal under its consideration to review the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the multi-brand retail sector. There will be some buzz in the oil & gas stocks on report that India's fuel demand fell 0.6 percent in March compared with the same month last year. Sales of petrol, were 2.9 percent higher from a year earlier at 2.11 million tonnes. Cooking gas sales increased 1.9 percent to 1.89 million tonnes, while naphtha sales surged 1.8 percent to 1.15 million tones. However, sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were 12.2 percent lower. The tobacco and cigarette stocks too will show some reaction to reports that health ministry in its bid to lower consumption of tobacco products, has sought to tax all such products, including bidis, at 28% as well as impose higher cess under the new GST regime.

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Tata Motors' subsidiary JLR is reportedly planning to launch 10 new products in India in this fiscal year.
• HDFC Bank, one of the most prominent private sector lenders, has launched its UPI on multi-bank payment app Chillr.
• L&T's construction arm -- L&T Constructions has bagged orders worth $817 million amounting Rs 5,250 crore from KAHRAMAA, Qatar.
• Lupin has received final approval for its Bupropion Hydrochloride Extended-Release tablets USP (XL), 150 mg and 300 mg from the USFDA.