Markets Likely To Have A Cautious Start

The domestic markets are poised for a cautious start to the week as investors worldwide weigh China's response to the coronavirus outbreak. Stocks in Asia began the week on a mixed footing as further signs of policy support from China and other countries helped prop up sentiment amid efforts to counter the fallout from the deadly coronavirus. And the SGX Nifty futures were flat, with a loss of 9 points or 0.07 per cent, in early trades.

On the Asian front, Japan's Topix index lost 0.9 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.7 per cent and Shanghai Composite added 0.9 per cent and South Korea's Kospi index gained 0.2 per cent.

On the commodities front, crude oil dipped 0.1 per cent to $52.02 a barrel and gold was little changed at $1,582.28 an ounce.

On Friday, the Dow Jones had fallen 126 points or 0.4 per cent to 29,297 and Nasdaq Composite had dropped 14 points or 0.1 per cent to 9,697

Meanwhile, reports suggest that telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices will make payments towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues during the course of the day to avoid stringent punitive action from the Department of Telecommunications.

On Friday, the Sensex had ended 202 points or 0.5 per cent lower at 41,258 and NSE Nifty 50 had fallen 61 points or 0.5 per cent to close at 12,113.