Sharp fall in crude oil prices could be a trigger for market rally

Global markets showed signs of a pullback but concerns about aggressive hikes in COVID-era interest rates and their impact on economic growth kept investors on the back foot.

Equities in other Asian markets slipped on Monday as US futures gave up early gains amid worries the Fed would this week underline its commitment to fighting inflation with aggressive rate hikes if needed. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan were down 0.9 percent at the last count.

Also Read: Oil wobbly after near 6% slump on economic concerns

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.3 percent, China's Shanghai Composite 0.6 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng 0.8 percent.

S&P 500 futures edged 0.1 percent lower ahead of a holiday on Monday. On Friday, the three main Wall Street indices were a mixed bag with the S&P 500 rising 0.2 percent. The tech stocks-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4 percent but the Dow Jones declined 0.1 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks ended a choppy session mildly lower on Friday, extending losses to the sixth session in a row, dragged by weakness in IT shares though strength in financial stocks limited the downside.