Indian Shares Likely To Extend Losses

Indian shares look set to extend recent losses on Friday despite positive cues from global markets.

With the economy bearing the brunt of Covid-19, all eyes are on the upcoming Union Budget that will be unveiled on Feb. 1.

In one of her statements, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that this budget will be the best budget in a hundred years.

Meanwhile, India will soon make available many more Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing the World Economic Forum’s online Davos Agenda Summit via video conference.

Benchmark indexes Sensex and the Nifty fell more than 1 percent on Thursday to extend declines for the fifth consecutive session, while the rupee settled 13 paise lower at 73.05 against the U.S. dollar.

Asian markets are trading mixed this morning, with a liquidity squeeze in China and concerns over vaccine production delays keeping underlying sentiment cautious. The dollar retreated and gold held steady while oil prices traded mixed in Asian trade.

U.S. stocks gained ground overnight after Q4 GDP data matched economist estimates and another report showed a bigger than expected decline in weekly jobless claims, suggesting a recovery in the labor market is underway.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 jumped around 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose half a percent.

European stocks finished mostly higher on Thursday as investors reacted to quarterly earnings announcements and the latest updates on vaccine rollouts.

The pan European Stoxx 600 inched up 0.1 percent. The German DAX edged up 0.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 index gained 0.9 percent while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.6 percent.

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