Indian equity markets are expected to open higher today after the US futures and Asian indices recovered from the morning lows. The SGX Nifty is indicating an open at around 10,100 mark for the broader index. Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 0.78 per cent and Dow fell 1 per cent while the Nasdaq ended at an all-time high after adding 0.3 per cent as attention turned to the US Federal Reserve, which wraps up its two-day meeting later on Wednesday..
In Asia, Australian ASX 200 was up 0.34 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.2 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI slipped 0.1 per cent in morning deals.
In commodities, Brent oil futures were last down 0.73 per cent to $40.88.
Meanwhile, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has jumped to over 2.76 lakh cases, while 7,750 people have died from the disease so far, according to Worldometer. The Delhi government yesterday projected almost a 20-fold rise in Covid-19 cases in the capital by July end as India looks to reopen economy in a phased manner. Some weekly indicators tracked by Business Standard have already started showing some recovery. While freight traffic has gone up, the Google location data shows more people are stepping out of their homes. Internet speeds are also back to similar levels seen before the lockdown.
On the results front, Hero MotoCorp yesterday reported a 26.46 per cent decline in consolidated profit after tax at Rs 613.81 crore for the quarter ended March 31. The company said it has rationalised capex spends for the current financial year by half.
A total of 24 companies including Shriram Transport Finance, Tanla Solutions, Century Textiles are scheduled to announce their March quarter numbers. All these companies and Hero MotoCorp are expected to show stock-specific movement in today's session.
Maruti Suzuki is also likely to be in focus today after the automaker said that owing to the lockdown it had to cut production by 97.54 per cent in May 2020 to 3,714 units. Meanwhile, rating agency India Ratings said the automobile sales may decline by up to 25 per cent in this financial year as compared to 2019-20 due to a complete washout in April and minuscule sales last month.
The projections aren't too encouraging for aviation companies either. The International Air Transport Association has projected $84.3-billion loss for global airlines in 2020 amid travel bans and visa restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic's impact is also visible in the primary market as IPOs have dried up this year. The draft red herring prospectus filings -- a preliminary prospectus filed ahead of an IPO -- with the Sebi has hit a six-year low. Meanwhile, Sebi has said firms with average market capitalisation of Rs 500 crore will now be eligible to bring out a follow-on public offering under the fast track record.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told state-owned banks yesterday to hold board-level talks and go for further cuts in interest rates on loans in a bid to spur economic activity.
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