An overnight rout on the Wall Street is likely to heavily impact investor sentiment back home today with the SGX Nifty indicating almost a 300 point lower opening for the Indian markets. As such, global cues and the updates on the spread of Coronavirus would be the top triggers for the markets today.
Meanwhile, the virus accelerated in Europe, Britain and North America. At least 11 people have died of the COVID-19 disease in the US while the UK reported its first death. Nearly 98,000 cases have been reported worldwide and more than 3,300 people have died of the virus. Yesterday, a man in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad tested positive for coronavirus, making him the 30th patient to be infected in India.
Amidst these developments, US stocks tumbled on Thursday as investors re-assessed the risks from the coronavirus and its economic impact. The major indexes Dow Jones, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite all dropped more than 3 per cent each.
Following the Wall Street plunge, Asian shares also fell on Friday as disruptions to global business from the coronavirus beyond China worsened. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5 per cent. Australian shares fell 1.86 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 1.45 per cent.
In another major development, the Reserve Bank of India yesterday superseded the board of YES Bank and imposed a 30-day moratorium on it citing its poor financial conditions. As such, depositors will not be allowed to withdraw more than Rs 50,000 without written permission from the RBI till the moratorium is in place. Besides, the State Bank of India yesterday said its board had given in-principle approval to consider an “investment opportunity” in YES Bank although no decision had yet been taken to pick up stake in the bank. The stocks of the two banks are therefore expected to trade actively today.
This apart, investors will also track other stock-specific developments, the Rupee's trajectory and the oil price movement. Yesterday, the rupee snapped its four-session losing run and closed 6 paise higher at 73.33 against the US dollar.
Oil prices rose after OPEC agreed to a bigger-than-expected oil output cut to support prices that have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Brent Crude ticked up to $50.06 per barrel.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks closed with modest gains on Thursday. Sensex ended 61 points higher at 38,471, while Nifty settled 18 points up at 11,269.
Read by: Kanishka Gupta
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