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Indian markets ended nearly a percent lower on Thursday dragged mainly by metals and banking stocks, as losses in Asian peers also weighed on the sentiment. Today, the markets are likely to start the last trading session of this week on a firm note, on the back of favourable global cues. Dip in daily Covid cases is likely to support market sentiment. The new infection count remained below the 300,000-mark for the fifth consecutive day in India as it witnessed a spike of 259,269 fresh coronavirus cases. Some support will come as the Ministry of External Affairs said India is engaged with American entities for procurement of COVID-19 vaccines from the US and their possible manufacturing in the country subsequently. Hit by a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, India has been focusing on ramping up domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines as well their procurement from abroad. Traders may take note of report that the International Monetary Fund stands ready to strengthen its dialogue and scale-up its technical collaboration with India, observing that the human tragedy is a stark reminder that the pandemic continues to be a grave threat globally. Besides, in view of hardships faced by taxpayers because of the pandemic, the government has extended several income tax (I-T) compliance timelines, including 2020-21 income tax returns (ITR), for individuals by two months to September 30. Meanwhile, Indian government may form a committee of experts to oversee cryptocurrency trade in the country as it looks at possibilities to regulate the digital currency instead of banning it altogether. Auto stocks will be in focus as ratings agency ICRA said the second wave of Covid-19 has dented the recovery momentum of automobile sector's Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and auto-ancillaries. There will be some reaction in sugar industry stocks as the Centre slashed subsidy on sugar exports from Rs 6,000 per tonne to Rs 4,000 per tonne with immediate effect in view of firm global prices. There will be lots of important earnings announcements too, to keep the markets in action.

The US markets ended higher on Thursday buoyed by gains in technology stocks as the smallest weekly jobless claims since the start of a pandemic-driven recession lifted the mood. Asian markets are trading mostly in green on Friday following an overnight bounce on Wall Street.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks turned sharply lower during the fag-end of the session, after staying flat for better part of the day and ended Thursday’s session with losses of over half percent, dragged by losses in index majors ONGC, Sun Pharma and Power Grid Corporation amid weak global cues. Benchmarks declined for second straight session with the S&P BSE Sensex fell as much as 337 points and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 14,950. After making slightly positive start, key gauges turned negative and stayed in red for whole day, as traders got anxious with ratings agency ICRA’s statement that sequential growth slackening driven by the second wave of Covid-19 in India has emerged as a concern. ICRA also cautioned that bruised sentiment, high healthcare and fuel expenses will limit discretionary purchases in the immediate term. Some cautiousness came in as India witnessed 276,261 fresh cases, with the new infection count remaining below the 300,000-mark for the fourth consecutive day. Markets extended losses in late afternoon session, amid a private report stating that almost 80 per cent of all income losses during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 were incurred by the private sector in India, while in many other countries the entire loss was on respective governments. However, losses remain capped as traders found some support with Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya’s statement that the government is monitoring the supply of various essential drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19. The minister noted that all drugs used in the management of COVID-19 were now available in India by ramping up production and increasing the imports. Meanwhile, Income Tax Department is expected to launch a new e-filing web portal for taxpayers, which they use to file routine ITRs and perform other tax-related works, early next month. Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 337.78 points or 0.68% to 49,564.86, while the CNX Nifty was down by 124.10 points or 0.83% to 14,906.05.

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