Benchmarks to make positive start amid firm global cues

Indian markets ended lower on Wednesday in the wake of rising new coronavirus cases. Today, the start of session is likely to be positive following firm cues from global markets. Investors will be looking ahead to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data to be out later in the day. Traders will be getting encouragement with a private report stating that a second stimulus package India is poised to announce in coming days will be worth around Rs 1 lakh crore ($13 billion) and focus on help for small and medium businesses weathering the coronavirus outbreak. Some support will also come as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued a slew of measures to facilitate the functioning of companies as they grapple with the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Though, there may be some cautiousness with rising coronavirus cases. The number of coronavirus cases in the country reached 5,916, with 178 deaths. Traders may be concerned with the United Nations’ International Labour Organization (ILO) in its latest report stating that about 400 million people working in the informal economy in India are at risk of falling deeper into poverty due to the coronavirus crisis which is having catastrophic consequences, and is expected to wipe out 195 million full-time jobs or 6.7% of working hours globally in the second quarter of this year. Traders may take note of report that India Inc has sought an economic package from the Centre to tide over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak and support small and medium businesses to keep their enterprises afloat while catering to the needs of the poor and informal sector workers. Aviation stocks will be on focus with a private report that private Indian airports are staring at a steep 40-60 per cent fall in passenger volume this financial year due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The US markets ended higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said Americans might be getting to the top of the curve in relation to the outbreak. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Thursday on hopes the Covid-19 pandemic is nearing a peak and that governments would roll out more stimulus measures.

Back home, in a volatile trading session, Indian equity benchmarks traded with a positive bias for most part of the day but selling activity which took place during late hour of trade mainly forced the markets to cut all of their gains and ended Wednesday’s session in red terrain amid weakness in global equities. Key indices started off with marginal losses, as traders remained on sidelines as the central government mulls over lockdown extension beyond April 14 amid the spread of coronavirus. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in India stand at 4,789 as the country entered the fifteenth day of a 21-day countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly disease. Around 124 people have died due to the disease. But, markets rebounded from the opening losses and surged at day's high in late morning deals, as traders turned optimistic with Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand’s statement that the government has taken several measures to safeguard farmers from any adverse impact of the ongoing lockdown, and the farm sector is expected to report a growth of little more than 3 per cent in the just-ended financial year. Adding some relief, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said it will provide emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to small and medium enterprises against their confirmed government orders. Though, key indices failed to hold gains and slid lower in the last hour of trading, as ratings agency ICRA predicted that India's economy is likely to witness a sharp contraction of 4.5 per cent during Q4FY2020 and is expected to post a GDP growth of just 2 percent in FY2021. Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 173.25 points or 0.58% to 29,893.96, while the CNX Nifty was down by 43.45 points or 0.49% to 8,748.75.