Summary: Fear of contagion looming over India's financial sector after the latest default on interest payments by Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) will continue to weigh on investor sentiment on Friday. Additionally, progress in trade dialogues between the United States and Mexico, oil prices and movement of rupee against the US dollar will also play a key role. On Thursday, benchmark indices posted their biggest one-day loss in 2019 despite the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reducing the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75 per cent in its June policy meet. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 554 points to 39,530 while the broader Nifty50 index tumbled 178 points, to 11,844 levels. The rupee closed at 69.27 per US dollar. GLOBAL CUES In Asian markets, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.04 per cent higher. Japan’s Nikkei firmed 0.3 per cent, but South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.5 per cent. On Wall Street, the indices ended in the green during the overnight trade on Thursday on optimism that the US and Mexican officials could crack a deal soon. The Dow Jones added 181 points to settle at 25,721 while the S&P500 gained 17 points to close at 2,843 levels. The Nasdaq ended 40 points higher at 7,615. In the commodities market, oil prices moved further away from five-month lows hit earlier this week. Brent crude futures were up 0.8 per cent at $62.17 a barrel by 6:10 am.
