The benchmark indices are likely to cheer the announcement of a stimulus package worth Rs 20 lakh crore, amounting to 10 per cent of the GDP, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised address to the nation on Tuesday night, to alleviate the pain caused by COVID-19. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a gap-up opening for the index in India, with a 219 points gain.The Nifty futures were trading at 9,458, higher by 233 points or 2.5 per cent, on the Singapore Exchange around 8:00 am.
The stimulus package titled, “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” would include the steps already taken by the Reserve Bank of India and relief package of Rs 1.7 lakh crore announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "The package will focus on land, labour, liquidity and law; it will help small business, labourers, farmers," the PM said.
Asian equities were set to pull back on Wednesday as heightened concerns about coronavirus infections and the timing for a vaccine outweighed the lift from rebounding oil prices and upbeat corporate earnings in Europe. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were up 0.37 per cent, Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures slipped 1.26 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.05 per cent to be 1.13 per cent.
Overnight, Wall Street closed lower after a choppy session on Tuesday as investors took profits following a warning from the top US infectious disease expert that premature moves to reopen the nation's economy could lead to novel coronavirus outbreaks and set back economic recovery. Dow Jones fell 1.73 per cent, S&P 500 lost 1.87 per cent and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.86 per cent
The Sensex ended 0.6 per cent or 190 points lower at 31,371 and the NSE Nifty 50 index declined 0.46 per cent or 43 points to settle at 9,197.
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