In highly volatile session, Indian equity benchmarks traded between green and red terrain for the most part of the day and ended flat on Monday, as market participants were concerned that the sharp rise of coronavirus cases, weigh the economy. Markets opened on a positive note in morning session but soon lost the momentum as Fitch Solutions cut India's economic growth forecast for the financial year 2020-21 to 1.8 per cent saying private consumption is likely to contract due to large-scale loss of income in the face of worsening domestic outbreak of COVID-19.  Some concern also came with Moody's Investors Service in its latest report stating that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) a slew of liquidity-boosting measures for the non-banking financial company (NBFC) sector are unlikely to boost the credit flow to the broader economy as NBFCs would shore up their own liquidity rather than on-lending to customers. However, key indices regained some momentum on positive side in late afternoon session, taking support from report that to curb opportunistic takeovers or acquisitions of Indian companies due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the government has amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy 2017. According to new revised policy, an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the government route.  But, markets failed to maintain gains and ended flat, as a survey by industry body FICCI has revealed sharpest moderation in the confidence level of India Inc since the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the coronavirus outbreak has adversely affected their businesses. The industry chamber said that as per its Business Confidence Survey, timely action by the government will enable quicker return to normalcy for the domestic economy. It also demanded a further 100 basis points reduction in the repo rate by the RBI. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 59.28 points or 0.19% to 31,648.00, while the CNX Nifty was down by 0.20 points or 0.04% to 9,266.55.

The US markets ended lower on Monday as traders cashed in on last week's gains amid lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. An historic drop by the price of crude oil also weighed on the markets, with a crude futures contract turning negative for the first time ever. Plunging oil prices overshadowed optimism over signs of peak infections in parts of the world, including New York, and plans from Europe, notably Germany, to begin unwinding the recent global economic pause due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, Housing stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 4.3 percent. Significant weakness was also visible among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 3.9 percent nosedive by the Dow Jones US Real Estate Index. Investors also were bracing for the worst quarter for earnings since the 2008 financial crisis, unsurprisingly due to closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results this year for the first quarter were on track to decline 14.5% from a year ago. Though, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reiterated his call for the federal government to help source vital reagents and other materials needed to start conducting antibody tests to help determine how many New Yorkers were infected with COVID-19, as part of the Empire State's efforts to reopen its economy. Such testing served as a major cornerstone of Germany's gradual restarting of its economy on Monday. Global infections of COVID-19 have exceeded 2.4 million, with more than 165,000 lives lost to the contagion that was first identified in China in December.

Crude oil futures ended below zero on Monday. The one-day plunge is the largest on record going back to 1983, and also the lowest level for a contract on record. The tumble was due to rising concerns about the excess supply in the oil market and the lack of storage facility, and mounting fears about the outlook for energy demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. Available oil storage capacity around the world is reportedly running thin - approaching full capacity amid declining global demand. Crude oil futures for May plunged $55.90 or 306 percent to settle at negative $37.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June Brent crude dropped $2.51 or 8.94 percent to settle at $25.57 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.

Indian rupee ended weaker against dollar on Monday, amid strengthening of the American currency overseas and sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country.  Traders remained cautious as Fitch Solutions cut India's economic growth forecast for the financial year 2020-21 to 1.8 per cent saying private consumption is likely to contract due to large-scale loss of income in the face of worsening domestic outbreak of COVID-19.  Some anxiety also came with Moody's Investors Service in its latest report stating that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) a slew of liquidity-boosting measures for the non-banking financial company (NBFC) sector are unlikely to boost the credit flow to the broader economy as NBFCs would shore up their own liquidity rather than on-lending to customers. On the global front, dollar found support on Monday and a rally in riskier currencies lost steam, as investors braced for more dire news on the fallout from the coronavirus and governments across the globe moved only cautiously toward an economic re-start. Finally, the rupee ended at 76.53, 14 paise weaker from its previous close of 76.39 on Friday.

The FIIs as per Monday's data were net sellers in both equity and debt segments. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 7682.56 crore against gross selling of Rs 8649.59 crore, while in the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 749.66 crore with gross sales of Rs 1185.34 crore. Besides, in the hybrid segment, the gross buying was of Rs 2.58 crore against gross selling of Rs 6.26 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Monday as traders cashed in on last week's gains amid lingering concerns about the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Asian markets are trading in red on Tuesday amid collapse in oil demand as the coronavirus pandemic derails the global economy. Indian markets ended choppy trading session flat on Monday as market attention shifted to the quarterly earnings season. Today, the markets are likely to get negative start following weak global cues as a historic plunge in oil prices raised concerns about how deep the economic slowdown will be this quarter. Rising coronavirus cases in India is likely to keep investors' sentiment in check. The country has currently 17,656 confirmed cases including 14,255 active cases and 2,841 cured/discharged cases and 559 deaths. There will be some cautiousness as a survey by industry body FICCI revealed sharpest moderation in the confidence level of India Inc since the global financial crisis of 2008-09 as the coronavirus outbreak has adversely affected their businesses. It said the Overall Business Confidence Index stood at 42.9 in the current round vis-a-vis an index value of 59.0 reported in the last survey. Traders will be concerned with report that investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market plunged to an over 15-year low of Rs 48,006 crore at the end of March amid high volatility in broader markets on concerns over coronavirus-triggered recession. Though, some encouragement may come later in the day as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the New Development Bank (NDB) to enhance emergency facility to $10 billion to deal with the challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, capital market regulator SEBI said that stricter surveillance measures to tackle market volatility amid coronavirus pandemic will continue till May 28. Housing finance companies stocks will be in focus with ICRA's report that housing finance companies are likely to see a slower credit growth of 9-12% in the current financial year as their disbursement may be impacted by the COVID-19 related disruptions. There will be some important result announcements to keep the markets in action.   

Support and Resistance: NSE (Nifty) and BSE (Sensex)

Nifty Top volumes

• Larsen & Toubro's construction arm -- L&T construction has bagged orders in India and abroad for its Power Transmission & Distribution Business. 
• ABB Power Grids has been awarded a project worth Rs 165 crore by state-owned refiner IOC to ensure reliable grid connection at its Barauni refinery in Bihar. 
• Tata Motors Group's global wholesales in Q4 FY20, including Jaguar Land Rover, were at 231,929 nos., lower by 35%, as compared to Q4 FY19. 
• ICICI Bank has launched voice assistance-based banking services for its customers.