COVID trend, lockdown 4.0 details, Q4 earnings to decide maket course: Analysts

The Indian equity market's movement this week will hinge on coronavirus-related developments such as lockdown 4.0 specifics and new infections trend, besides quarterly earnings, analysts said. In addition, experts said, domestic bourses will take cues from global peers which have been reeling from fears of a second wave of COVID-19 in some countries.

The market will also assess the effectiveness of the government's mega Rs 20-lakh crore stimulus package that, analysts believe, would be critical for the revival of the economy. The first of the five tranches of the mega stimulus, unveiled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last Wednesday, had failed to enthuse the market on Thursday.

"Government has made it clear that it will introduce the measures in tranches, but execution is key and that will be followed by the markets. Markets will also be driven by the rate of infections, lockdown 4.0 norms and any stock specific earnings commentary in the ongoing results season," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said, "It seems like markets are awaiting further details (of stimulus package) before making any reaction and we may see the possible response on Monday i.e. May 18." The government in its first four tranches of the stimulus package focussed on credit line to small businesses and new fund creations to be shouldered by banks and financial institutions with very little extra budget spending.

In the last set of measures, the finance minister on Sunday announced plans to privatise PSUs in non-strategic sectors and suspend loan default-triggered bankruptcy filings for one year, and also gave a Rs 40,000 crore hike in allocation for the rural employment guarantee scheme to provide jobs to migrant workers. "Now the market would again focus on global cues and may continue to remain under pressure. There is also fear of a second wave of pandemic spread and extended period of economic slowdown. Further, the earnings season so far suggest more volatility and disruption," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Markets would now await for the new norms of lockdown 4.0, he said. Last week, the Sensex fell 544.97 points or 1.72 per cent.

On the earnings front, Bharti Airtel Limited, Apollo Tyres, Bajaj Finance, Tata Power Company, Bajaj Auto, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Hindustan Zinc are some of the major companies to announce their results this week. According to the Health Ministry, the death toll due to COVID-19 crossed 2,800 and the number of total positive cases surpassed 90,000 till Sunday morning.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)