Positive start likely amid encouraging global cues

After a black Monday for the Indian markets where Nifty and Sensex cracked sharply, the SGX Nifty indicates that there is nothing really to worry about for the markets at least at the opening bell. The SGX Nifty is trading with an uptick of 22 points at the 11,720 level. Also, aiding the sentiments is the positive close on the Wall Street in the overnight trading. There is some good news on the tax collection front as advance tax collections of Indian companies surged for the first quarter of FY20 by a staggering 171 per cent, with Mumbai recording a 133 per cent growth in advance tax payments. However, Indian markets need to deal with some negative news flow as well this morning as the global rating agency, Fitch, has cut India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.6 for FY20. The cut in forecast by 20 bps by Fitch was due to the slowdown in agriculture and manufacturing.  

The Asian markets are seen trading in the green on Tuesday following a positive close on the Wall Street in overnight trading. The Japanese stock index Nikkei 225 was up marginally, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has risen 0.23 per cent and the Kospi has gained 0.35 per cent.

Back home, the start of the fresh week was not exactly what the investors wanted as the key equity benchmark indices plunged over a per cent and slipped below their crucial psychological levels of 39,000 (BSE Sensex) and 11,700 (Nifty). The indices opened the session with a marginal uptick, but soon after, the indices came under selling pressure and as the day progressed the sell-off intensified and the markets ended the session near the day’s low. The broader indices like Nifty Midcap and Smallcap dropped 1.17 per cent and 1.58 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, there were no gainers. The top losers were Nifty Metal, Nifty Auto, Nifty PSU Bank. India VIX surged over 5 per cent to end at 14.65 mark.

The US stocks closed Monday’s session in the green amid hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon lower interest rates as recent economic data has been encouraging. The FOMC will begin its two-day policy session on Tuesday. The Dow and S&P 500 added 0.1 per cent each, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 0.7 per cent.

The European indices finished Monday’s session on a mixed note. France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.43 per cent and the UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.16 per cent, while Germany’s DAX slipped 0.09 per cent.