On Monday, Indian share markets ended the day on a strong note, marking a continuity in its upward trend for March series, but the Nifty ended below 10,600. The Sensex ended up by 304 points, while the Nifty ended up by 92 points.

Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank and UPL gained the most on both indices, while Sun Pharma, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra lost the most.

Top Stocks in Focus

Lupin share price will be in focus as it has launched Testosterone Topical Solution, 30 mg per actuation having received an approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) earlier.

Hindustan Zinc share price will be in focus too as it is planning to set-up two new mills in Rajasthan with a joint capacity of 3 million tonnes (MT) of ore-treatment with an investment of Rs 6 billion.

JSW Steel is all set to acquire Italy-based Aferpi Steel firm for Rs 6 billion. The deal is to be finalized probably by the end of March or beginning of April.

Tata Motors, along with its distributor, Sipradi Trading has marked its entry into the growing Compact SUV segment in Nepal with the commercial launch of the new Gen-next lifestyle SUV, the Tata NEXON on 22 February 2018.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its formulations facility at Srikakulam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Sun Pharma share price will be in focus as investors turned wary of observations issued to its Halol plant by the US drug regulator.

Idea Cellular Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit, which are set to merge to create India's largest telecom operator, will invest Rs 600 billion in infrastructure to meet surging demand for data.

Global Stock Market Drivers

Asian stock markets closed higher on Monday, tracking gains seen on Wall Street as US bond yields receded from recent four-year highs. Meanwhile, the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies.

European shares followed their Asian counterparts higher as benchmark Treasury yields held steady below 3% and the dollar weakened.

Here are some key events scheduled for this week:

• Powell will testify before a House panel on Tuesday. He'll discuss the Fed's Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report and the state of the economy. Powell returns on March 1 before a Senate committee.
• Companies announcing earnings this week include: Vale, BASF, Standard Chartered, Bayer, Lowe's, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Peugeot, WPP, and London Stock Exchange Group.
• UK Prime Minister Theresa May will deliver a speech on Britain's relationship with the European Union after Brexit.
• A barrage of data is expected out of Japan including retail sales and industrial production Wednesday, and capital spending on Thursday.
• In China, the official and Caixin purchasing managers' indices on Wednesday and Thursday respectively may show growth momentum slowed slightly in February, though the signal may be clouded by the holidays, the reports noted.

IPO Buzz

As per an article in a leading financial daily, Warburg Pincus backed Lemon Tree Hotels will be hitting D-street soon with its Rs 10 to 12 billion initial public offering (IPO).

Reportedly, the issue is largely an offer-for-sale (OFS), which will see a partial exit by long-time shareholders.

Meanwhile, Kalyan Jewellers is looking to file papers for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) next month. The Kerala-based company is considering raising around Rs 25 billion from the issue.

From Commodities Space

Oil prices steadied on Monday after hitting their highest level in nearly three weeks, supported by comments from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia that it would continue to curb shipments in line with the OPEC-led effort to cut global supplies.

US West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery was up 4 cents at US$63.6 a barrel after rising 3% last week.

London Brent crude slipped 3 cents to US$67.3 a barrel, after climbing almost 4% last week. Both benchmarks earlier hit their highest since 7 February.

Gold prices climbed on Monday buoyed by a weaker dollar as US bond yields dipped. Spot gold was up 0.8% at US$1,338.97 an ounce after rising to as high as US$1,340.85, the highest in about a week. Prices last week fell 1.4%, their biggest drop in 2.5 months.