Taking cues from global markets, domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty were trading in negative territory after giving up opening gains. S&P BSE Sensex was trading 81 points or 0.21 per cent lower at 38,542, while the broader Nifty 50 index was ruling at 11,287, down 16 points or 0.14 per cent. “In the near term, we expect volatility to remain high as globally as well as domestically, market sentiments would be driven by updates on the spread of Coronavirus cases. Therefore, we continue to remain cautious on Indian market due to increased volatility, lackluster earnings and weak macro data,” Ajit Mishra, VP – Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.
What’s weighing markets today-
US Fed Reserve cuts rates- US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates on Tuesday in an attempt to protect the world’s largest economy from the impact of coronavirus. In a statement, the central bank said it was cutting rates by a half percentage point to a target range of 1.00% to 1.25%, as per Reuters news report.
IndusInd top Sensex loser- As many as 13 stocks out of 30 Sensex stocks were trading in red today. IndusInd Bank was the top loser, down 2.12 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank. On the flip side, Bajaj Auto was the top gainer, up 2.18 per cent. Asian Paint, Bharti Airtel, HCL Tech and TCS were among other gainers on the index.
Most of the sectoral indices slip in red- Nifty Metal index was the top sectoral loser, down nearly a per cent dragged by Jindal Steel, Tata Steel and Vedanta While Nifty IT index gained 0.27 per cent led by buying in HCL Tech, TCS and Infosys.
Global markets subdued- In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.2 per cent higher, after easing hopes drove gains on Tuesday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.2 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei was either side of flat in choppy trade. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 785.91 points, or 2.94 per cent, to 25,917.41, the S&P 500 lost 86.86 points, or 2.81 per cent, to 3,003.37 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 268.08 points, or 2.99 per cent, to 8,684.09.
WHO warns shortage of medical equipment– The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned of a global shortage and price gouging for protective equipment to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus and asked companies and governments to increase production by 40% as the death toll from the respiratory illness mounted, as per the Reuters.
SBI Cards IPO close to 100% subscription- SBI Cards IPO was subscribed 88 per cent on the second day of bidding as retail investors subscribed more than 100 per cent of the shares offered along with SBI employees and shareholders. Of the total 10 crore shares that are being offered in the IPO, investors have bid for 8.75 crore shares translating to Rs 6,609 crore out of the total Rs 7,571 crore that SBI cards is trying to raise from the issue.