Sensex, Nifty Likely To Open Higher Today After 7-Day Fall

Domestic stock markets are likely to open higher on Tuesday amid gains in global peers where equities rebounded on hopes policymakers around the world will move to ease the economic fallout from the spreading coronavirus pandemic. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures - an early indicator of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty index - rose as much as 73.5 points to touch 11,195.00 ahead of the opening of Indian markets before giving up most of those gains. At 8:26 am, the SGX Nifty futures were up 17.00 points - or 0.15 per cent - at 11,138.50.

Fitch Ratings on Monday cut its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India to 4.9 per cent for the current fiscal year citing weak domestic demand and supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

That followed official data last Friday which estimated GDP growth at 4.7 per cent in the October-December period. 

The credit ratings said it expects the country's economic growth to recover to 5.4 per cent in the next financial year.

Equities in other Asian markets jumped, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gaining 0.8 per cent and Japan's Nikkei jumping 1.6 per cent. South Korea's Kospi added 2.4 per cent and Australian shares advanced 1.8 per cent ahead of an expected rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The Australian central bank is widely expected to cut the policy interest rate to 0.5 per cent from 0.75 per cent, already a record low.

The European Central Bank on Monday joined the chorus of central banks signalling a readiness to deal with the growing threats from the coronavirus outbreak. That followed Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who had earlier flagged readiness to move after a rout in global stocks last week.

The moves by policymakers reflected growing fears that the disruption to supply chains, factory output and global travel caused by the new epidemic could deal a serious blow to a world economy trying to recover from the US-China trade war.

Coronavirus is now spreading much more rapidly outside China than within the country, leading the world into uncharted territory, although the World Health Organization (WHO) has so far stopped short of calling it a pandemic.

On Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had reversed early gains to end 153.27 points - or 0.40 per cent - lower at 38,144.02, and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark settled at 11,132.75, down 69.00 points - or 0.62 per cent - from the previous close, as the markets extended losses to a seventh straight day.

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