Domestic stock markets are likely to start Thursday's session on a negative note tracking losses in Asian equities, a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman detailed the first set of measures under the government's "Atma Nirbhar Bharat" economic package. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Nifty futures - an early indicator of the NSE Nifty 50 benchmark index - fell as much as 155.5 points to 9,235.50 ahead of the opening of Indian markets. At 8:18 am, the SGX Nifty futures were down 135.25 points - or 1.44 per cent - at 9,255.75.
The Finance Minister said after market hours on Wednesday that loan guarantees worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore will be provided to small businesses, non-banking financial companies and power firms. Ms Sitharaman also announced provident fund and tax benefits for people as well as extended the due dates for filing income tax returns.
Asian equities were set to slump on Thursday after the head of the Federal Reserve warned of a "significantly worse" U.S. recession than any downturn since World War Two because of coronavirus pandemic fallout, sentiments that drove bonds higher on a safety bid.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures slipped 0.92 per cent and Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 1.07 per cent. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.05 per cent.
Overnight, Wall Street's three major indexes closed lower for the second day in a row after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned on Wednesday of extended economic weakness due to the coronavirus pandemic and called for Congress to agree on additional fiscal support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.17 per cent, S&P 500 lost 1.75 per cent and Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.55 per cent.
Meanwhile, oil prices crept up on Thursday, supported by a surprise decline of US crude inventories, but gains were capped by worries that a potential second wave of the coronavirus pandemic might trigger fresh lockdowns and slam fuel demand once again.
Brent crude futures rose 6 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $29.25 per barrel at 0045 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 8 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $25.37 a barrel.
The United Nations has forecast that the coronavirus pandemic will shrink the world economy by 3.2 percent this year, the sharpest contraction since the Great Depression in the 1930s. India's economic growth is forecast to slow to 1.2 percent in 2020, a further deterioration from the already slowed growth of 4.1 percent in 2019.
Earlier on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex index had ended 637.49 points - or 2.03 per cent - higher at 32,008.61 - its biggest single-day gain in almost two weeks, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark settled at 9,383.55, up 187.00 points - or 2.03 per cent - from its previous close.
