Soft opening expected

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 32 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower on Wednesday as an emergency rate cut from the US Federal Reserve did little to soothe investor fears over the coronavirus's widening fallout.

The surprise 50 basis point cut came with commentary highlighting the limits of monetary policy.

In US, stocks finished sharply lower on Tuesday, after a volatile trading session, and Treasury yields fell to historic lows, with Wall Street deeming a surprise inter-meeting interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve insufficient to restore confidence in a market that has been rocked by worries about the spread of coronavirus world-wide.

The decline for markets came as the Fed announced a half-a-percentage-point rate cut, reportedly saying that while the economy's fundamentals remain strong, the coronavirus-poses evolving risks to economic activity.

Back home, the market ended with strong gains on Tuesday, snapping losses in the past seven trading sessions. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, climbed 479.68 points or 1.26% at 38,623.70. The Nifty 50 index jumped 170.55 points or 1.53% at 11,303.30.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 2415.80 crore yesterday, 3 March 2020, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 3135.24 crore, yesterday, 3 March 2020, as per provisional data.

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