Stock market outlook: The trajectory of global markets, the engagement of foreign investors in trading activities, and the unveiling of crucial domestic macroeconomic indicators are anticipated to be the driving forces steering investor sentiment in the upcoming holiday-shortened week, according to analysts.

The previous week witnessed benchmark indices surging to unprecedented heights, fueled by robust GDP figures, marking a remarkable rally in the equity markets. However, investors should note that trading will be halted on Friday in observance of Mahashivratri.

Looking ahead, market participants will closely monitor major events, including the unveiling of the US Services PMI on March 5, 2024, as well as the testimony by US Fed Chair Powell, coupled with the release of the US unemployment rate on March 8. The movement of crude oil prices also warrants scrutiny, with any adverse developments likely to sway market sentiment, cautioned Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart Ltd.

Additionally, attention will be directed towards the upcoming announcement of the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for the services sector on Tuesday, shaping market sentiment on the domestic economic front. Arvinder Singh Nanda, Senior Vice President at Master Capital Services Ltd, underlined that market dynamics this week will be influenced by a confluence of factors, including global economic indicators, investment patterns of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs), fluctuations in crude oil inventories, currency movements vis-à-vis the dollar, and trends in international stock markets.

Last week, the BSE benchmark surged by 663.35 points or 0.90 per cent, while the Nifty soared by 165.7 points or 0.74 per cent. The BSE Sensex, comprising 30 stocks, notched a new closing peak of 73,806.15 points on Saturday, gaining 60.80 points or 0.08 per cent, with an intraday high of 73,994.70 points. Meanwhile, the Nifty concluded at a fresh closing record of 22,378.40 points, climbing by 39.65 points or 0.18 per cent, having touched an all-time high of 22,419.55 points during the trading session.

In an endeavour to fortify resilience against potential disruptions, leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE undertook a special trading session in the equity and equity derivative segments on Saturday, executing an intra-day transition from the Primary Site (PR) to the Disaster Recovery (DR) site.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, underscored the significance of forthcoming data releases from the US, encompassing PMI, payroll, and inflation data from China, in shaping market dynamics in the days ahead.

(With PTI inputs)