Indian stock markets prolonged the weakness for second straight day and finished the session on a dull note, below the neutral lines, as investors booked profits in index heavyweights such as ITC, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel, after a strong week and ahead of a long weekend. Sentiments remained dismal with the report that private equity investments in the first quarter of this year fell to nearly 3-year low of $2.1 billion in the absence of big ticket deals. According to the report, there was a decline both in terms of value as well as volume of deals and PE investment values dropped to the lowest level in the last 11 quarters. There were 192 PE deals worth $2.1 billion in the January-March quarter, as against 284 such transactions worth $3.02 billion in the year ago period. Leads from the Asian & European counterparts remained highly unsupportive giving no significant direction to the domestic indices, while decline in international crude oil prices too failed to enthuse the local sentiments. Caution also prevailed as market participants were not keen to raise bets at the prevailing record levels despite the start of May F&O series in the derivatives segment. However, losses remained capped with the International Monetary Fund Managing Director's statement that the Goods and Services Tax to be implemented from July 1 would help raise India's medium-term growth to above eight percent, as it will enhance production and the movement of goods and services across Indian states. Meanwhile, people in Uttar Pradesh and in neighbouring Uttarakhand are facing a shortage of cash in banks and ATMs, six months after the old currency notes of Rs 1,000 and 500 were demonetised in the country. Finally, the BSE Sensex decreased 111.34 points or 0.37% to 29918.40, while the CNX Nifty was down by 38.10 points or 0.41% to 9,304.05. The Indian markets remained closed on Monday on account of Maharashtra Day.

The US markets made a mixed closing on Monday, though the tech heavy Nasdaq ended at a fresh record highs, the trade remained lackluster throughout the day with traders seeming reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. On the economic front a report released by the Institute for Supply Management showed that growth in manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in the month of April. The ISM said its purchasing managers index dropped to 54.8 in April from 57.2 in March, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 56.5. The Commerce Department also released a report showing that personal income rose slightly less than expected in the month of March. Personal income rose by 0.2 percent in March after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.3 percent in February. A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that construction spending unexpectedly dipped by 0.2 percent in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 27.05 points or 0.1 percent to 20,916.46, while S&P 500 was up by 4.13 points or 0.19 percent to 2,384.20 and Nasdaq gained 44 points or 0.7 percent to 6,091.60,

Crude oil futures slumped to their lowest in a month on Monday amid doubts over whether OPEC can handle the lingering global supply glut. While Libya ramped up production while fears resurfaced that rising U.S. production would offset an OPEC-led deal to curb the global glut in supply. OPEC is expected to extend its supply quota plan this month, but with U.S. production surging and President Donald Trump allowing drilling in the Arctic. Benchmark crude oil futures for June delivery ended down by $0.49 or 0.1 percent to $48.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for June delivery ended lower by $ 0.98 percent at $51.89 on the ICE.

Indian rupee extended its weakness for the second consecutive day on Friday, on increased month-end demand for the American currency from importers. Sentiments remained down-beat with the report that private equity investments in the first quarter of this year fell to nearly 3-year low of $2.1 billion in the absence of big ticket deals. According to the report, there was a decline both in terms of value as well as volume of deals and PE investment values dropped to the lowest level in the last 11 quarters. Moreover, the US dollar's gains against some other currencies overseas and a weak domestic equity market also put pressure on the rupee. On the global front, Sterling climbed to its highest against the dollar since late September on Friday, brushing off data showing a sharp slowdown in UK economic growth as traders closed off heavy bets against the pound ahead of a long Bank Holiday weekend. Finally, the rupee ended at 64.25, 10 paise weaker from its previous close of 64.15 on Thursday.

The FIIs as per Friday'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 6398.12 crore against gross selling of Rs 6420.92 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 1625.80 crore with gross sales of Rs 731.29 crore.

The US markets made a mixed closing in last session on getting some downbeat economic data, while the personal spending was unchanged for the second consecutive month, personal income rose slightly less than expected in the month of March. The Asian markets have made mostly a positive start with, some indices gaining about half a percent coming after a long weekend. Though, the Chinese market was marginally in red after a gauge of April manufacturing fell below estimates. The Indian markets lost over a quarter percent in the last session, showing a lackluster performance and markets remaining in red through the session. Today, the start is likely to be flat-to-cautious. Traders however may get some support with report that the core sector in the country grew 5% in March, a significant rise from the 1% growth registered in February on account of a favourable base effect. Also, core sector growth for the year ended March hit a five-year high, registering a growth rate of 4.5% over the previous year. Traders will also be getting some support with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that India was never a more promising investment destination than it is today. He said that today, Indian economy is the fastest growing major economy in the world. In addition to maintaining this pace, our focus is to remove the inefficiencies from the system. Meanwhile, Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Anthony Lianzuala has said that the government is confident of achieving the fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent for 2016- 17. There will be some buzz in the realty sector stocks, as the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) came into effect from May 1. The Act would bring about a paradigm shift in the way the real estate industry operates and improve the level of transparency and accountability of developers. The auto sector stocks will also be in action, reacting to their monthly sales numbers.

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

Nifty Top volumes

• ONGC has made 23 oil and gas discoveries in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, a 35 per cent jump over 17 finds made in 2015-16 fiscal, as a record number of wells drilled helped it uncover new reserves.
• Maruti Suzuki India has earmarked Rs 4,500 crore capital expenditure for the current financial year, as compared to Rs 3,500 crore capex for the previous financial year that ended on March 31.
• HDFC Bank is planning to raise Rs 5000 crore in a perpetual bond sale for the first time as the lender seeks to support its capital.
• Lupin has received final approval for its Olmesartan Medoxomil tablets, 5 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg from the USFDA to market generic version of Benicar tablets, 5 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg.