Market Ahead, March 5: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

As the number of new coronavirus cases continues to rise and the governments and central banks scramble to cushion the virus' impact on the global economy, stock markets are witnessing a roller-coaster ride. According to market experts, the trend is unlikely to end any time soon. As such, the newsflow regarding the fast-spreading virus will continue to remain the top trigger for the markets today.

In India, a new case of Coronavirus has emerged after a Paytm employee in its Gurgaon office tested positive, taking the toll of confirmed cases in India to 29. More than 93,000 cases have been reported worldwide, and several thousand have died from the flu-like coronavirus which has now spread to more than 80 countries.

Besides, investors will track stock-specific action. Telecom stocks are likely to remain in focus today as the government on Wednesday asked Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies to pay remaining AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order without further delay.  Yesterday, the government also said that it has detached GAIL India, Oil India and other PSUs from a Supreme Court order that had led to Rs 1.47 lakh crore being sought from telecom firms as AGR dues.

This apart, investors will continue to track oil price movement and the Rupee which has now slipped past the 73-mark against the US dollar.

In the US, investors set aside the coronavirus concerns and found relief in the strong performance of former Vice President Biden in the Democratic nomination campaign. Biden is considered less likely to raise taxes and impose new regulations than rival Bernie Sanders. As a result, the Dow and the S&P 500 gained over 4 per cent each and the Nasdaq was up 3.85 per cent.

Asian markets followed the Wall Street to a higher opening on Thursday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.2 per cent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8 per cent and Australian shares managed a bounce of 1.6 per cent. The SGX Nifty indicated a flat opening for India's benchmark indices.

In commodities, crude oil prices were mixed with Brent crude futures off 16 cents at $51.70 a barrel.

Back home, benchmark indices ended lower on Wednesday. The S&P BSE Sensex slid 214 points to 38,409 and the Nifty50 index ended 52 points lower at 11,251.

According to analysts, the market continues to face a high level of volatility and only a close above 11,350 zone will bring back some near term pullback hopes. 10,900-11,000 continues to remain an important support zone for Nifty. On the upside 11,550 is likely to act as a stiff resistance zone.

Read by: Kanishka