Stocks may open slightly higher

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 24 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower on Monday as the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak surpassed the SARS epidemic, raising alarm bells about its severity.

In US, stocks closed lower on Friday, a day after all three benchmark indexes finished at records, as investors locked in recent stock gains following a stellar January jobs report that exceeded economists' expectations. Also on investors' radar were efforts to contain the fast-moving coronavirus amid a busy week of quarterly earnings reports.

The US economy added 225,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.6% as the share of Americans in the labor force rose by 0.2 percentage point.

Back home, key benchmark indices corrected on Friday, following four sessions of broad gains. Negative global cues spoiled investors sentiment. The barometer BSE S&P Sensex fell 164.18 points or 0.40% to 41,141.85. The Nifty 50 index lost 51.55 points or 0.42% to 12,086.40.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 161.93 crore on Friday, 7 February 2020, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 178.59 crore, on Friday, 7 February 2020, as per provisional data.

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