Share markets in India have erased most of the early morning gains and are presently trading marginally higher. Benchmark indices are trading in a range but are highly volatile.
The BSE Sensex is trading up by 142 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 34 points.
The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading up by 0.3%.
Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the telecom sector and IT sector witnessing buying interest, while realty stocks are witnessing selling pressure.
The rupee is trading at 75.62 against the US$.
Gold prices are currently trading down by 0.6% at Rs 45,543.
Speaking of the current stock market scenario, Indian stock markets have seen a stunning recovery over the last 5 weeks.
Excluding yesterday's 6% fall, of all the rebounds after a 35%-40% fall in the market, the current one has been the biggest by a distance.
This is evident from the chart below:
Sensex: From Bear to Bull in 30 Days
While the Sensex has rebounded sharply, there are still many stocks out there that are trading at attractive valuations.
If you can find good businesses that can survive the current crisis, you will do well in the long run.
Moving on, market participants are tracking Rallis share price, Persistent Systems share price, and SBI Life Insurance share price as these companies are slated to announce their March quarter results (Q4FY20) later today.
In news from the oil & gas sector, the BSE Oil & Gas index surged nearly 3% today amid rise in crude oil prices.
Shares of ONGC surged over 6%, while HPCL, BPCL and Reliance Industries gained in the range of 2-4%.
Crude oil prices rose today on expectations that fuel demand will begin to recover as some US states and nations in Europe and Asia start to ease coronavirus lockdown measures.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose over 8% to three-week highs of US$ 22.06 per barrel during the day. WTI futures are on a five-day winning streak that started on April 29.
Extending gains for the sixth straight day, Brent crude futures hit a high of US$ 28.57 a barrel.
Note that Brent crude prices have fallen sharply since early March 2020, as low as US$ 19 per barrel.
The fall was triggered on account of a supply glut in the market by Saudi Arabia and Russia which was later aggravated on account of a decline in demand for petroleum products due to COVID-19.
Speaking of crude oil, in one of his videos, Vijay Bhambwani shares his thoughts on the recent crude oil crash.
He talks about whether we should be celebrating lower crude prices, or should we be worried?
Moving on to news from the banking sector, shares of AU Small Finance Bank are locked in the 5% lower circuit limit for the second straight day today, after the lender reported subdued earnings owing to higher provisions created toward special mention accounts (SMA) accounts.
AU Small Finance Bank reported 3.5% year on year (YoY) growth in its profit after tax at Rs 1.2 billion, affected by higher provisions of Rs 1.5 billion, as it made 5% provisions toward SMA accounts, as per an RBI circular.
The bank's net interest income grew 43% YoY to Rs 5.6 billion, while margins came at 5.5%.
In other news, ICICI Bank is planning to raise funds by way of issuance of debt securities including non-convertible debentures/bonds/notes/offshore Certificate of Deposits in single/multiple tranches in any currency through public or private placement.
The board of the bank at its meeting scheduled on May 9, 2020 will consider the same.
ICICI Bank share price is presently trading up by 0.5%.
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