GOOD MORNING PRE MARKET REPORT Nifty declined by 113 points to close at 23,092 on Friday amid relentless foreign portfolio investor (FPI) selling and underwhelming corporate earnings for the December quarter. The upcoming week holds significant importance, not just for the equity markets but for the economy as well, with the Union Budget scheduled for February 1 and a special trading session on that day for real-time reactions to policy announcements. STATE OF THE MARKETS GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a gap-down start GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 153.50 points, or 0.66 per cent, at 22,978.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for gap-down start on Monday. • Tech View: The near-term trend of the Nifty remains weak. A slide below the immediate support of 22975 levels could open the next downside towards 22800 levels. Any upside bounce towards 23350-23400 could be a sell-on-rise opportunity. • India VIX: India VIX, which is a measure of the fear in the markets, rose 0.3% to settle at 16.74 levels. US stocks slip Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Friday as investors stepped back while they digested a mixed bag of economic data and earnings reports and prepared for a week filled with economic releases and a Federal Reserve meeting. Oil falls Oil prices fell more than 1% on Monday after U.S. President Trump called on OPEC to reduce prices following the announcement of wide-ranging measures to boost U.S. oil and gas output in his first week in office. FII data The net short of FIIs reduced from Rs 3.28 lakh crore on Thursday to Rs 3.09 lakh crore on Friday