Has the market seen the bottom? Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley says a number of indicators like investor sentiment, the historical VAR (value at risk), the change in realised volatility, the Relative Strength Index and valuation ratios like price to book as well as equity-bond yield gap are hitting new lows. "A lot of these have passed the bear market lows. These metrics are telling us that we have hit a bear market trough," says he. But then, we don't yet know for how long will this lockdown go on, what will be the extent of damage caused to the economy and how exactly would the government want to provide its healing touch to industry!
STREET PULSE: Where we stand Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded some 70 points lower at 7am (IST), signalling possible weakness ahead on Dalal Street. Elsewhere in Asia, stock markets made a cautious start this morning following a two-day rally, as investors await the passage and details of a $2 trillion stimulus package in the US to combat the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
Read More  | MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3%. Japan's Nikkei fell 2.2%. Hong Kong futures rose 1% and China A50 futures gained 0.2%. |
| In overnight trade, the Dow rose 2.4% and S&P500 1.2%, while the Nasdaq dropped half a per cent following a Nikkei report that Apple was weighing a delay in the launch of its 5G iPhone. |
| Oil prices were mixed on Thursday following three days of gains, with the prospect of rapidly dwindling demand due to coronavirus travel bans and lockdowns. WTI crude futures slipped 4 cents, or 0.2%, to $24.45, while Brent futures rose 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $27.51. |
| Money markets were shut on Wednesday on account of Gudi Padwa. On Tuesday, the rupee gained 26 paise to settle at 75.94 against the US dollar. |
| WHO'S |  |
LIC VALUED MUCH LESS... Independent valuation firm RBSA Advisors' has valued the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the range of Rs 9.9 lakh crore to Rs 11.5 lakh crore, much lower than what private insurers command. Market capitalisation as a percentage of assets under management is lower for the state behemoth as LIC distributes about 95% of its surplus among policyholders. While the practice may be benevolent to the policy holders, it reduces profits available to LIC's shareholders and can significantly affect its valuation, RBSA said in a report. The government aims to raise Rs 2.1 lakh crore by listing the insurance firm in FY21.
Read More LOGISTICS OPERATIONS HALT… Air freight operators and logistics firms are being forced to suspend operations because goods are piling up at cargo terminals due to lack of staff and trucks have been halted by police enforcing the Covid-19 lockdown across the country. That could lead to essential supplies grinding to a halt as the country embarks on a three-week lockdown despite express government assurances that this wouldn't be the case.
Read More PACKAGED FOOD PRODUCTION HIT… India's largest essential and packaged food companies are staring at a huge production and supply cuts after factories in several places closed down due to enforcement authorities stopping workers from travelling and many workers migrating to their hometowns. In towns where factories are still running, worker strength was at best 50% as police restrcited worker movement. While many manufacturers are facing shortage of raw materials due to supply chain disturbances, they are also finding tough to even deliver finished products to retail stores due to restricted movement of trucks.
Read More | LOOK WHO'S |  |
STIMULUS IN THE WORKS… India is likely to agree an economic stimulus package of more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore ($19.6 billion) to fight a downturn in the country that is currently locked down to stem the spread of coronavirus, Reuters reported. The government has not yet finalised the package and discussions are ongoing between Prime Minister office, the finance ministry, and RBI. Quoting a senior government official, Reuters said the package, which could be announced by the end of the week, will be used to put money directly into the accounts of more than 100 million poor and to support businesses hit the hardest by the lockdown.
Read More MORATORIUM ON EMIs LIKELY… The finance ministry has asked RBI to consider implementing a series of emergency measures aimed at helping borrowers cope with the economic havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic, ET reported. The financial services secretary Debashish Panda has written to RBI suggesting a moratorium of a few months on the payment of EMIs, interest and loan repayments and a relaxation in the classification of non-performing assets. Panda also underscored the importance of maintaining liquidity in the system.
Read More SENATE OKAY TO US STIMULUS?… The Trump administration struck a deal with Senate Democrats and Republicans on an historic rescue package with more than $2 trillion in spending and tax breaks to bolster the hobbled US economy and fund a nationwide effort to stem the coronavirus. The plan includes about $500 billion to be used to back loans and assistance to companies, $50 billion for loans to US airlines, as well as state and local governments, another $350 billion to aid small businesses and $150 billion aid for hospitals and other health-care providers for equipment and supplies.
Read More Meanwhile... BANKS' HEALING TOUCH TO MSMES... State-run banks took the lead in providing support to the bruised small-scale industries by extending credit facility and staying back from demanding repayments on the scheduled dates even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is still formulating an industry-wide package. Indian Bank, Uco Bank and Union Bank unveiled measures that ranged from enhancing working capital limits to a sixmonth moratorium for those units affected by the coronavirus, the banks said.
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