Markets may see further downside amid geopolitical concerns

Indian equity benchmark extended their southward journey for the fourth session in a row on Thursday. Tata Motors plunged over 8 per cent to their lowest level in over a year after the company’s failed to meet expectations. The Sensex fell 267 points to settle at 31,531 and the Nifty nosedive 88 points to settle at 9820.

The European indices ended Thursday’s session with deep cuts. The DAX of Germany fell 1.15 per cent and the CAC 40 of France shed 0.59 per cent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. nosedive 1.44 per cent.

On Wall Street, all the three stock gauges on Thursday marked the worst one-day percentage drop since May 17. The sentiments took a hit amid a persistent war of words between the U.S. and North Korea. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 200 points to finish at 21,844. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index sank 2.1 per cent to close at 6,217. The S&P 500 index plunged 36 points to finish at 2,438.

Asian markets declined in early trade on Friday following sell-off in the U.S markets overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 remains close on account of public holiday. Hong Kong Hang Seng has crashed 343 points and China’s Shanghai Composite has plummet 27 points.

Domestic markets are likely to extend their downfall on Friday following negative cues from Asian peers and sell-off in the U.S. markets after geopolitical concerns continue to weigh on Wall Street. The SGX Nifty which was dropped over 100 points is trading at 9,764 is suggesting a huge gap down start for the day.

Today is an important day on the earnings front as well with a large number of stocks reporting their quarterly earnings on Friday including Allahabad Bank, BEML, Bank of Baroda, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Bosch, CESC, Cipla, Cadila Healthcare, CG Power, Godrej Industries, HDIL, IGL, JSW Energy, Oil India, SBI, Sun Pharma, Hindalco Industries, REC, SAIL, Sun TV, Tata Global Beverages, Oriental Bank of Commerce and TVS Motors.