Key developments to track today: SGX Nifty tanks 250 points and more

The domestic market is expected to open sharply lower, tracking a negative trend seen in global markets after Wall Street plummeted around 4 per cent overnight in yet another dramatic session, with the Dow Jones slipping below its 100-DMA. 

At 8:30 am, SGX Nifty, an early indicator of Nifty50's movement in India, was trading at 10,323, down 238 points or 2.25 per cent. 

1) Dow cracks 1000 points

US markets plunged around 4 per cent on Thursday in another dramatic session, confirming a correction that has thrown the market’s nearly nine-year bull run off course.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,032.89 points, or 4.15 per cent, to 23,860.46, the S&P 500 lost 100.66 points, or 3.75 per cent, to 2,581 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.83 points, or 3.9 per cent, to 6,777.16.

The sharp selloff in recent days was kicked off by concerns over rising inflation and bond yields, sparked by Friday’s January US jobs report, with investors pointing to additional pressure from the violent unwinding of trades linked to bets on volatility staying low.

2) Asia tumbles to two-month low

Asian stocks tumbled to two-month lows after Wall Street shares suffered yet another big slide in the face of rapidly-rising bond yields, with perceived havens such as the yen and Swiss franc in demand amid the turmoil.

Japan’s Nikkei sagged 3.3 per cent, en route for a weekly loss of 8.9 per cent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 2.3 per cent to a two-month low.

The index, which had hit a record high on Jan. 29, was on track for its sixth straight day of losses and stood to lose about 7.7 per cent on the week.

Australian shares lost 1.15 per cent and South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.7 per cent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.8 per cent and Shanghai retreated 2.85 per cent.

3) Oil prices

Oil prices fell for a sixth day on Friday after Iran announced plans to boost production and US crude output hit record highs, adding to concerns about a sharp rise in global supplies.

The falls come amid a rout in global share markets as inflation fears grip investors.

Brent futures were down 38 cents or 0.6 percent, at $64.43 a barrel by 0146 GMT. On Thursday, Brent fell 1.1 percent to its lowest close since Dec. 20.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 54 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $60.61, having settled down 1 percent in the previous session at its lowest close since Jan. 2.

4) Earnings today

As many as 262 companies are likely to report Q3 numbers today. These include lkem Laboratories, Apex Frozen, Avanti Feeds, Bank of Baroda, Bata India, BPCL, GSFC, HPCL, India Cements, Kitex Garments, M&M, Marico, Max Financial Services, Mahanagar Gas, MOIL, NALCO, Oil India, State Bank of India, SJVN, Sobha, Sun TV, Suzlon Energy, Syndicate Bank, Tata Steel, UCO Bank etc. among others.