On Wednesday, the Indian equity market is expected to be volatile tracking global cues. SGX Nifty, which indicates the movement for key Indian indices, suggests a negative opening. After two straight sessions of sharp gains, Asian stocks tumbled today as investors became wary of getting too optimistic over the slowing spread of coronavirus while the death toll continues to rise across the globe. Volatility in the oil market, where prices rebounded in early trade in Asia, left traders in a fix.
US crude futures jumped 5.4 per cent to $24.92 a barrel, having shed 9.4 per cent the session before, while Brent crude added 74 cents to $32.61. The erratic action spilt over into equities, with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan losing 0.5 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei dropped 0.7 per cent and South Korea 0.8 per cent. The S&P 500 had ended down 0.16 per cent, having been up as much as 3.5 per cent at one stage. The Nasdaq slipped 0.33 per cent and the Dow fell 0.12 per cent.
After the US stock market closed, President Donald Trump said the country may be getting to the top of the coronavirus curve. The Trump administration asked Congress for an additional $250 billion in emergency economic aid for small US businesses reeling from the pandemic.
PM Modi has asked ministers to prepare a list of 10 major decision and 10 priority area to focus on once the lockdown is lifted. To capture the decision is the difficult trade-off that India needs to make between prioritising saving lives and containing the economic damages in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic that has liked more than 100 people in the country.
Read EquityPandit’s Nifty Outlook for the Week