Asian stock markets are lower today as Chinese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Shanghai Composite is off 0.2% while the Hang Seng is flat%. The Nikkei 225 is trading down by 0.8%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 closed lower after a choppy session on Tuesday as investors took profits following a warning from the top US infectious disease expert that premature moves to reopen the nation's economy could lead to novel coronavirus outbreaks and set back economic recovery.
Trends on SGX Nifty indicated a gap up opening for the index in India with a 219 points gain.
India share markets rallied in the opening session on optimism around Rs 20 trillion fiscal package. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 968 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 248 points. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index opened up by 2.6% and 2.3% respectively.
All sectoral indices are trading in green with banking stocks, automobiles stocks and metal stocks witnessing maximum buying interest.
The coronavirus impact has shaken markets worldwide. Indian stock markets have felt the full impact too.
For the BSE Sensex, FY20 was the second worst year post FY08, the year of the global financial crisis.
Naturally, there is an atmosphere of fear all round.
Is it time to sell stocks now? Will the correction get worse?
History has shown that after years like the one we had just now, the next 3 years are good for the markets. In fact, these corrections are the rare times when you find businesses with solid fundamentals at reasonable valuations.
If you can find good businesses that can survive the current crisis, you will do well in the long run.
Moving on, gold prices are currently trading down 0.3% at Rs 45,625.
The rupee is currently trading at 75.17 against the US$.
The rupee on Tuesday rebounded by 22 paise to close at 75.51 against the US currency on hopes of stimulus measures by the government and a weak dollar in the global markets as countries started to open up their economies.
Foreign fund inflows and a spirited recovery in domestic stocks also supported the rupee.
The rupee opened lower at 75.89 at the interbank foreign exchange market and moved between 75.49 and 75.95 in the day trade.
The currency finally settled at 75.51 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 22 paise over its previous close of 75.73.
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.
We also reached out to Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, who is closely tracking the Indian rupee in the current scenario. Here's what he has to say...
Moving on to the news from the economy. According to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, retail inflation, calculated on the basis on Consumer Price Index (CPI), was revised to 5.84% in March.
Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed that retail inflation remained in the RBI's upper target limit of 6% for the first time since November 2019.
This was the lowest level of retail inflation reported since November last year.
The ministry said it was not releasing general CPI for April in view of the nationwide lockdown to contain spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Generally, the price data for calculation of CPI are collected from selected 1,114 urban markets and selected 1,181 villages. However, due to the coronavirus-led lockdown, the price collection of CPI through personal visits of price collectors was suspended with effect from 19 March 2020.
In the month of April 2020, price data was largely collected by telephonic enquiry from the designated outlets.
Meanwhile, India's industrial output as measured by IIP (Index of Industrial Production), steeply contracted by 16.7% in the month of March 2020 as compared to the year-ago period.
This was mainly due to slump in production from mining, manufacturing and electricity sector amid nationwide lockdown.
Speaking of economy and markets in corona times, in the recent episode of Investor Hour, Rahul Goel talks to Vijay Bhambwani, who he calls India's #1 trader.
Vijay dives deep in the "coronavirus" situation and talks about stocks, bonds, the rupee, gold, silver, crude oil, and more.
Whatever you do, don't miss this issue of the Investor Hour!
Listen in here...
To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.
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