Domestic stock markets are likely to start Tuesday's session on a negative note tracking weakness in global peers, after US crude prices nosedived below the $0 a barrel mark for the first time ever, highlighting an unprecedented global oil gut. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures - an early indicator of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty index - fell as much as 235.25 points to hit 9,025.25 ahead of the opening of Indian markets. At 8:36 am, the SGX Nifty futures were down 197.00 points - or 2.13 per cent - at 9,063.50.
Asian equity markets followed Wall Street lower. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell half a per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 1 per cent.
US crude oil bounced back into positive territory on Tuesday, after a historic plunge below zero that shocked investors and pushed down stock prices and Asian currencies.
Futures for May delivery of West Texas Intermediate rose nearly $39 but were still just $1.76 a barrel, after a storage squeeze and collapsing fuel demand crushed prices to eye-popping lows.
The contract expires at the end of trade on Tuesday, which is pushing investors to clear them from their books at any price, and June prices at $22 per barrel point to some relief.
But the collapse highlighted intense disruptions globally as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns paralyse the world economy, and augurs badly for a swift return to growth.
On Monday, the domestic markets had finished a volatile session on a mixed note with the S&P BSE Sensex index ending 59.28 points (0.19 per cent) higher at 31,648.00 and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark settling at 9,261.85, down 4.90 points (0.05 per cent) from the previous close.
