News Overview

Indian equity markets went through a highly volatile week as three major events shaped investor sentiment — the Union Budget, the Indo-US trade deal, and the RBI’s monetary policy decision. While the budget and RBI stance disappointed markets, optimism around the trade deal supported selective buying across sectors.

After heavy selling in January 2026, FPIs turned net buyers in the first week of February. This blog analyses the impact of the Union Budget, STT hikes, RBI policy, rupee movement, and the Indo-US trade deal on FPI sentiment and market direction.

February 2026 RBI policy keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, maintains neutral stance, raises FY26 GDP growth to 7.4% and inflation forecast to 2.1%.

The FPI selling in January was seen in BFSI, FMCG, and Consumer stocks; while metals saw heavy FPI buying

Indian stock markets in January 2026 saw risk-off trends, sharp sector divergence, lower valuations, and strong performance from PSU banks and metals.

RBI policy preview: Rate cut debate intensifies as liquidity takes centre stage, with Budget impacts priced in and uncertainty around the Indo-US trade deal.

Markets saw a selective rebound as NIFTY rose 1.09%, led by banks, while volatility stayed high and IT lagged, keeping gains narrow and follow-through weak.

In a sense, the Union Budget 2026-27 has been aligned with the larger goal of Viksit Bharat

There was not much in the budget for mutual funds, as most of the expectations did not really materialize

There was a lot of hue and cry over the STT increase, but that would only be a part of the overall capital market implications