Mumbai, March 20: Sensex after remaining volatile in the first half of the trading session, ended their four-day losing streak and ended in the green. Sensex closed at 29,915, up 1,627 (5.75 percent). The markets improved on the back of positive global markets and joint efforts taken by countries across the globe to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Nifty ended at 8,745. The Asian markets rose while US stock futures continued to struggle after Wall Street posted modest gains Thursday.

The condition across the globe amid the coronavirus outbreak continues to be worrisome. As the number of infected people in the country touched 195, there is panic in the market. PM Narendra Modi urged the nation to come together and fight the deadly virus. He urged people to maintain social distancing and also follow the 'Janta Curfew' on March 22 from 7 am to 9 pm. Fitch Cuts India’s Growth Forecast to 5.1% For 2020 Due to Coronavirus Outbreak.

Adding more to the negative sentiment, Fitch Solutions on Friday cut its forecast for India’s growth to 5.1 percent from 5.6 perent due to coronavirus outbreak. The rating agency also halved the global growth forecast for 2020 to 1.3 percent.

COVID-19 hit US economy has already sunk into recession, warned economists at BofA Securities in a recent report, though they expect this phase to be short-lived and see a bounce back in the third quarter (July–September) of 2020 (Q3-2020). In this period, the research firm expects that there would be massive job losses and urged the US Federal Reserve not to restrict the quantum of stimulus measures.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 20, 2020 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).