Govt should seize the opportunity to improve its finances
Here's a selection of Business Standard Opinion pieces for the day.
A nearly 25% slump in oil prices triggered panic-selling and heavy losses on Wall Street's main stock indexes as the rapid spread of coronavirus amplified fears of a global recession
On Monday, Saudi Arabia reduced oil prices and offered to increase production, triggering a price war among oil-producing countries
The fall in oil prices comes at a time when the global economy is already reeling under the impact of coronavirus, which has dented demand across sectors and economies
As confidence on equities declines, large oil producers may hesitate to loosen their purse strings, thereby impacting valuations too
The carnage in the equity market wiped out investor wealth worth Rs 6,84,277.65 crore, taking the total m-cap to Rs 1,37,46,946.76 crore on the BSE at the end of Monday's trading session.
The failure of the Vienna talks added to increasing investor nervousness over the coronavirus epidemic that has dampened oil demand
Deal between Russia and OPEC shook on Friday when OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, failed to reach agreement with the world's No. 2 oil producer Russia to deepen production cuts aimed at shoring up prices.
An OPEC+ delegate said there were "positive signs" after a separate, earlier OPEC+ meeting had finished.
Brent crude rose by 78 cents, or 1.5%, to $51.91 per barrel by 0202 GMT
Brent crude lost 17 cents to trade at $51.73 a barrel by 1:28 p.m. EST (1628 GMT). U.S. crude traded 1 cent lower at $46.74 a barrel
The OPEC+ nations have agreed to cut crude oil production by further 0.6 mbpd
Brent crude futures were up 7 cents at $59.19 a barrel by 0939 GMT, after climbing to as high as $59.71 earlier in the day
Oil has dropped more than 25% from a peak in January with US crude back below $50 a barrel after the spreading virus hit demand in China
As the coronavirus outbreak hits fuel demand in China, the world's biggest crude oil importer, refiner Sinopec Corp told its facilities to cut throughput this month by about 600,000 barrels per day
WHO's Emergency Committee is set for another meeting later on Thursday to reconsider whether the rapid spread of the virus should now be called a global emergency.
The outbreak began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei and has spread to the rest of the country, with 440 confirmed cases and nine deaths so far
Index movement and the weighting are calculated on free-float market capitalisation of individual index stocks. Free float is the portion of the shares owned by non-promoters
Analysts expect the renewed geopolitical worries to remain for a couple of days, lending support to the crude oil price and taking a toll on emerging market currencies, including the rupee