Indian Indices Extend Gains; Rupee Hits Fresh Record Low

Wed, 22 Apr 12:30 pm

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Share markets in India have extended early gains and are presently trading on a strong note, as investors anticipated another stimulus from PM Modi's cabinet meet scheduled today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a cabinet meet today to take stock of the ongoing situation in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. As per reports, investors are hoping for announcement of another economic relief package.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the energy sector and automobile sector witnessing buying interest, while metal stocks and realty stocks are trading in red.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 520 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 123 points.

The BSE Mid Cap index is trading down by 0.2%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.1%.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.9% at Rs 45,715 per 10 grams.

The rupee is trading at 76.75 against the US$.

The domestic currency touched a fresh all-time low of 76.91 against the US dollar in the early trade today as forex market continued to grapple with economic uncertainties due to the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic amid sustained outflow by foreign institutional investors.

In a recent article titled The Sharp Fall in Indian Rupee: 6 Points to Know, we dive deeper and look at the factors behind rupee's depreciation.

Market participants are tracking Reliance Industries share price as the company is scheduled to announce its March quarter results (Q4FY20) later today.

You can also read our recently released Q4FY20 results of Wipro, TCS, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Tata Elxsi.

In latest developments from the IPO space, the markets regulator has given a breather to companies by extending the expiration date for their IPO approvals.

At present, the approvals given to IPOs are valid for 12 months from the date of regulator's final observation. This has now been extended by six months, subject to fulfilment of certain conditions.

Further, the regulator also allowed changes to the IPO structure. It said, "the issuer shall be permitted to increase or decrease the fresh issue size by up to 50% of the estimated issue size without requiring to file fresh draft offer document."

Previously, companies were required to re-file the draft offer prospectus if they increased or decreased the estimated fresh issue size by more than 20%.

However, the regulator said there has to be no change in the objects of the issue. Also, the relaxation is only for issues that open before the end of the current calendar year.

For the rights issue framework, the markets regulator reduced the eligibility requirement of the average market capitalisation of public shareholding to Rs 1 billion from Rs 2.5 billion earlier.

The threshold for minimum subscription requirements for a rights issue has been reduced from the existing 90% to 75% of the offer size.

What effects the above relaxations have on Indian stock markets remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

Moving on to news from the insurance sector, the demand for health insurance policies has surged by 30% post the spread of coronavirus pandemic, online insurance aggregator Policybazaar.com said.

Shares of insurance companies have bounced back sharply recently. Shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and New India Assurance Company have seen about 37-50% surge in their share prices in the past one month.

Reports state that expectations of strong demand for health insurance products amid coronavirus outbreak and higher profitability aided by lower claims is driving up investor sentiment.

However, subdued demand for automobiles is a key concern for general insurers. The automobile sector accounts for over 35-40% of total general insurance premium.

There are also doubts on renewal of existing policies. While the government and the insurance regulator IRDAI have extended the renewal time for premiums amid coronavirus, customers may demand more time.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

Speaking of the insurance sector, this is one sector which is a clear outperformer in this volatile market.

With the huge future potential of the sector, the outperformance is not surprising. India's life insurance penetration i.e. insurance premiums as a percentage of GDP, is very low compared to the global average.

Life Insurance Sector - Megatrend in the Making

The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11-13% over the next five years. India's large youth population and growing awareness about insurance is bound to accelerate growth.

As per Tanushree, this is one of the megatrends that will help what she calls the Rebirth of India.

She has identified the 7 best stocks that will profit from the Rebirth of India. You can read about these top 7 stocks here.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

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