The United Nations said the global economy could shrink by up to 1 per cent in 2020 due to coronavirusThe markets are likely to open weak, continuing from where they left on Thursday, going by early trends on the Singapore Nifty futures.

The discouraging news on the coronavirus front is also likely to bear on the markets.

The Nifty futures were trading at 8227, lower by 46 points, on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours.

The coronavirus cases in India crossed the 2,000 mark and death toll rose to 53 in the second week of the 3-week countrywide lockdown imposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Asian markets on Friday looked to latch onto Wall Street's overnight gains after crude prices notched their biggest one-day surge on record, helping offset concerns about the depth of a global recession.Nikkei futures edged slightly higher and Australia's benchmark was up 1.5 per cent in early trade.

Hong Kong futures were negative.

A gauge of stocks across the globe advanced 1.24 per ccent overnight, adding to modest gains earlier in Europe.US stocks rallied on Thursday as hopes for a truce in the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia and a cut in oil output drove gains, taking some sting out of a shocking jump in Americans filing jobless claims due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.

The Dow Jones rose 469.93 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 21,413.44, the S-P 500 gained 56.4 points, or 2.28 per cent, to 2,526.9 and Nasdaq Composite added 126.73 points, or 1.72 per cent, to 7,487.31.The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits shot to a record high for a second week in a row - topping 6 million - as more states enforced stay-at-home measures to curb the coronavirus pandemicMeanwhile, the United Nations said the global economy could shrink by up to 1 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth, warning that it may contract even further if restrictions on the economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses.The Sensex had tumbled 1,203 points or 4 per cent to close at 28,265 and NSE Nifty 50 index had dropped 344 points or 4 per cent to end at 8254.

The markets were shut on Thursday due to Ram Navami festival.