Benchmarks trade in green in early deals

Indian equity benchmarks made cautious start on Thursday but soon gathered momentum and are trading higher with gains of around half a percent each in early deals. Sentiments were 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 are eyeing 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 took 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, upside remained capped amid concerns over COVID-19 pandemic kept investors cautious. The death toll due to the pandemic rose to 681, while the number of cases in the country climbed to 21,393.

Global cues also remained supportive with most of the Asian markets trading higher with modest gains following the positive cues overnight from Wall Street for the first time in three days and the substantial rebound in crude oil prices. Optimism about more stimulus measures from global central banks to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic also lifted stocks. Meanwhile, the latest survey from Jibun Bank revealed that the manufacturing sector in Japan continued to contract in April, and at a faster pace, with a PMI score of 37.8. That's down from 41.1 in March and it moves further beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Back home, SIDBI has launched a liquidity support scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. On the sectoral front, agriculture related stocks were 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. In scrip specific developments, Vodafone Idea soared after reports that U.K.-based telecom major Vodafone Group has infused Rs 1,530 crore (or $200 million) into the debt-ridden company to help manage its operations. ONGC jumped on reports that it has asked the government to waive payment of oil cess and royalty amid a plunge in international oil prices to more than two-decade low.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 31516.88, up by 137.33 points or 0.44% after trading in a range of 31292.92 and 31646.45. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index jumped 1.72%, while Small cap index up by 1.71%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.08%, Healthcare up by 1.65%, Oil & Gas up by 1.51%, Basic Materials up by 1.39%, Realty up by 1.36%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.49%, Power down by 0.15%, Auto down by 0.14% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC up by 3.60%, Tata Steel up by 3.00%, TCS up by 2.64%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 2.19% and ICICI Bank up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.73%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.09%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.56%, Bajaj Finance down by 1.23% and Power Grid down by 1.11% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the World Bank in a report on impact of COVID-19 on migration and remittances has said that remittances to India are likely to drop by 23 percent from $83 billion 2019 to $64 billion 2020, as a result of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in a global recession. It further said that globally remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent this year due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

Remittance flows are expected to fall across all World Bank Group regions, most notably in Europe and Central Asia (27.5 percent), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (23.1 percent), South Asia (22.1 percent), the Middle East and North Africa (19.6 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (19.3 percent), and East Asia and the Pacific (13 percent). It said the projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be more vulnerable to loss of employment and wages during an economic crisis in a host country.

World Bank Group President David Malpass said ‘remittances are a vital source of income for developing countries. The ongoing economic recession caused by COVID-19 is taking a severe toll on the ability to send money home and makes it all the more vital that we shorten the time to recovery for advanced economies.’ He added ‘remittances help families afford food, healthcare, and basic needs. As the World Bank Group implements fast, broad action to support countries, we are working to keep remittance channels open and safeguard the poorest communities' access to these most basic needs.’

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 9236.55, up by 49.25 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 9170.15 and 9251.55. There were 33 stocks advancing against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Britannia Industries up by 9.46%, Zee Entertainment up by 8.99%, ONGC up by 3.67%, Tata Steel up by 3.11% and TCS up by 2.72%. On the flip side, Titan Company down by 2.67%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.59%, Shree Cement down by 1.55% and Bajaj Finance down by 1.30% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Nikkei 225 surged 138.35 points or 0.72 % to 19,276.30, Straits Times rose 0.44 points or 0.02% to 2,550.48, Hang Seng jumped 56.53 points or 0.24% to 23,949.89, Taiwan weighted increased 31.23 points or 0.30% to 10,338.97, KOSPI advanced 7.66 points or 0.40% to 1,903.81, Jakarta Composite strengthened 41.28 points or 0.90% to 4,608.84, while Shanghai Composite was down by 4.44 points or 0.16% to 2,822.57.