Record Covid-19 Cases In India And US May Pull Markets Lower

Covid-19 cases in India are rising and that too at a very brisk pace. India's COVID-19 tally touched 6,48,315, with Friday seeing the biggest single-day increase of 22,771 cases, the latest data from the Union Ministry of Health shows.

The pace of increase in India is fast and it is highly possible in the next couple of days, India could overtake Russia, to have the third largest number of Covid-19 cases reported.

Rising US Covid-19 cases may cause worry for the markets

Alabama and as many as six other states in the U.S., reported record increases in coronavirus cases on Friday, according to news reports. Florida according to news reports has imposed a curfew ahead of the Independence Day weekend and Arkansas joined a push toward mandating mask-wearing in public.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Idaho and Alabama all registered new daily highs in cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. If the pace of infections continue, we are in for a second wave, which might push closure of some cities and hence economic activity across the globe.

Markets may fall

Global markets have had a solid rally in the last few weeks, and we might see some pull back. Indian markets are up nearly 35 per cent from lows seen in March, which makes the risk reward ratio highly unfavorable at this time. The risk on rally is likely to fade.

It is best to be a little cautious at this stage and stay with cash.