Markets likely to open in green on Thursday

Indian markets ended higher on Wednesday supported by gains in Reliance Industries, as it alone contributed 100 bps to the indices. Today, the start of session is likely to be optimistic with positive leads from global markets. Also, sentiments are likely to be positive with anticipation of another stimulus package from the government, in the wake of novel coronavirus outbreak. Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal has said more calibrated monetary and fiscal stimulus measures are on the anvil to deal with the economic fallout from COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown. Investors will be looking ahead to the two-day (April 23-24) meeting of the economic advisory council which is expected to deliberate on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on economic growth in this fiscal year and the next. Traders may take note of report that to ease fundraising for stressed companies, markets regulator SEBI has proposed easier pricing guidelines under the preferential route and exemption from making an open offer for the allottees of such issue. Though, there may be some cautiousness with the World Bank’s statement that as a result of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in a global recession, remittances to India are likely to drop by 23% from $83 billion last year to $64 billion this year. Meanwhile, the Centre has slashed the subsidy on non-urea fertilisers, a move that would reduce the burden on the exchequer to Rs 22,186.55 crore in this fiscal amid the COVID-19 outbreak. There will be some buzz in the MSME stocks as SIDBI launched a liquidity support scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Agriculture related stocks will be in focus as the Centre set the wheat procurement target at 40.7 million tonnes for the 2020-21 marketing year (April-March) as the country is expected to harvest a record 106.21 million tonnes of the grain this year. There will be some reaction in metal stocks with World Steel Association data showing that global crude steel production fell 6% to 147.1 million tonnes in March from a year earlier, as the coronavirus crisis forced the closure of furnaces. There will be some result announcements to keep the markets in action.

The US markets ended in green on Wednesday amid report that the Senate has passed a new bill to provide funding for hospitals and small businesses and expand coronavirus testing. Asian markets are trading mostly higher on Thursday after rebounding crude prices and the promise of more US government aid to ease the economic pain inflicted by the coronavirus crisis helped calm global equity markets.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks traded in green zone for most part of the day and ended near day’s high on Wednesday, driven by heavyweight Reliance Industries which ended over 10 percent due to its subsidiary Jio Platform's deal with global social media Facebook. Markets made a cautious start amid rising coronavirus cases in the country. Traders were also concerned with a survey by FICCI-Dhruva showing that as many as 72 percent of businesses surveyed as part of a report said they expect to see a high or very high impact from the coronavirus pandemic and the steps taken to counter it. Also, ASSOCHAM-Primus Partners' joint survey showed that economic stress on the industry arising out of the nationwide lockdown forced by the Covid-19 health emergency is expected to last well beyond one quarter. However, key indices soon gained traction, as traders found support with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) extending the deadline to import and export goods without furnishing bonds to the Customs authorities by a fortnight till May 15, with an aim to facilitate trade during the COVID-19 lockdown. Markets continued strong bullish momentum in final hour of trade, taking support from Crisil Ratings’ report that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) three-month suspension of EMIs could provide a liquidity breather of Rs 2.10 lakh crore if all corporates avail it. The report is based on assessment of 9,300 of its rated non-financial sector companies across 100 sectors. It said sectors with higher leverage, such as power, telecom, roads, textiles and fertilisers, will be the major beneficiaries and account for nearly 47% of the total breather available. Some optimism also came as the government advised banks to extend the interest subversion (IS) and prompt repayment incentive (PRI) benefit to all the farmers whose accounts become due during March 1 to May 31 period. Positive cues from global markets too lifted investor sentiment. Separately, to ease fundraising for stressed companies, markets regulator Sebi proposed easier pricing guidelines under the preferential route and exemption from making an open offer for the allottees of such issue. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 742.84 points or 2.42% to 31,379.55, while the CNX Nifty was up by 205.85 points or 2.29% to 9,187.30.