As of 08.20 a.m., the SGX Nifty traded 72 points lower at 5,238. That’s 50 points lower than the spot price. The Nifty ended at 5,287 on Tuesday after dropping 189 points. The Sensex closed below 18,000.
The rupee will be the key. The partially convertible currency closed at 65.24 on Tuesday, near the all-time low of 65.30. That is unlikely to give any confidence to traders.
The rupee posted its biggest single-day fall in nearly 18 years yesterday, a day after the lower house of Parliament approved a nearly $ 20 billion plan to provide cheap grain to the poor, raising concerns the fiscal deficit will blow out even further.
But even as rupee holds centre stage, other factors — mainly global – may influence trade today. Among them are the growing concerns over a military intervention in Syria, which not only hit global markets on Tuesday, but also lifted oil and gold prices.
At times of uncertainty, investors often move out of perceived risky assets such as stocks and into supposedly safe havens such as gold.
Asian markets saw deep cuts today morning, with Japan’s Nikkei hitting falling 2.4 per cent to a two-month low.
The Syrian crisis comes even as emerging markets have been reeling for the past few weeks on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce its $ 85 billion a month bond-buying programme as soon as next month.
(With inputs from agencies)