Negative start set for the day!

In early action, SGX Nifty is seen trading in a negative territory despite a strong rally on Wall Street. The biggest cause of concern for the domestic markets is that India has recorded the biggest single-day jump of 5,611 new Coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide tally of confirmed cases to over 1.06 lakh on Wednesday. Also, the cues from Asian counterpart are mixed. At the time of writing, SGX Nifty was trading down by 68 points at 9,015 levels.  However, as the day progresses, volatility is likely to kick-in on the eve of weekly options expiry.

On the earnings front, key names such as Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd, Bajaj Finserv and Hind Zinc are slated to announce their quarterly earnings today.

On Thursday, Asian indices were trading on a mixed note despite a strong rally seen on Wall Street during the overnight trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is seen advancing for the fifth straight day on the back of optimism about country lifting the state of emergency in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefecture. China’s Shanghai Composite has added 0.05 per cent while, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is down by 0.39 per cent.

Back home, the first half of the trading session was uninspiring as the key benchmark indices traded in a capped range, however, in the second half of the trading session, the bulls pushed the benchmark indices higher as Cabinet approved special liquidity scheme for NBFCs/HFCs to address their liquidity stress. As a result, equity indices rose for the second straight session on May 20. At the closing bell, Nifty reclaimed 9,000 mark, up by 2.11 per cent and BSE Sensex closed at 30,819, advancing 2.06 per cent. In the broader market, Nifty Mid-cap and Small-cap gained 1.55 and 1.04 per cent, respectively. On the sectoral front, all sectors closed in green and the market breadth was also inclined strongly on the advancing side.

In overnight developments, US stocks leaped higher on Wednesday, reversing most of the previous day’s losses. Market participants turned optimistic about the economy as the states begin to reopen. Besides, early indication shows that the states that have reopened have not seen a spike in Coronavirus cases, pushing concerns of the second wave of Coronavirus infection on the backfoot.  Further, earnings from the retail sector also generated a positive sentiment as Lowe’s topped Q1 expectations and Target sowed a surge in digital sales. At the close, tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.1 per cent and recorded its best closing level in three months. Dow and S&P surged 1.5 and 1.7 per cent, respectively. European markets too witnessed a weak start but the markets staged a smart recovery and ended the session on a firm note.