Indian shares were set to kick-start 2023 on a muted note due to higher oil prices and a surge in Covid-19 cases in China.
India's NSE stock futures listed on the Singapore exchange SINc1 were down 0.23% at 18,180.50, as of 7:55 a.m. IST on Monday.
Wall Street equities closed lower on Friday, with all three major indexes logging their worst year since 2008
Asian markets were trading mixed, with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rising 0.14%.
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) managing director warned that 2023 would be a tougher year than 2022 for global economy as all the major engines of global growth - United States, China and Europe experience weakening activity.
Oil prices rose on year-end holiday travel. Brent crude futures LCOc1 hovered around $86 per barrel.
Higher oil prices hurt oil-importing countries like India, where crude constitutes the bulk of the country's import bill.
Foreign institutional investors sold 29.51 billion rupees ($356.76 million) worth of equities on a net basis on Friday, while domestic investors bought about 22.66 billion Indian rupees ($273.95 million) worth of shares, as per provisional NSE data.
