Share markets in India are presently trading on a positive note. The BSE Sensex is trading up by 221 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 73 points.
The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading up by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
Barring telecom stocks and IT stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the energy sector and FMCG sector witnessing most of the buying interest.
The rupee is currently trading at 75.68 against the US$.
Gold prices are currently trading up by 0.4% at Rs 47,245.
Note that the coronavirus impact has shaken markets worldwide. Businesses are seeing unprecedented shifts in a virus struck, locked down economy.`
Moving on, market participants are tracking Bajaj Auto share price, Ajanta Pharma share price and UltraTech Cement share price as these companies are scheduled to announce their March quarter results later today.
In news from the macroeconomic space, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended the government's stimulus measures, saying she remains open to more measures as and when needed as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the consequent lockdown unfolds.
Sitharaman said that decisions were made by various government departments and took cognizance of the best way to spend the public money.
She told The Economic Times that the government's restrained fiscal policy was informed by history. "Mostly I would say, coming from the learning based on the experiences of 2008-13, that's one of the reasons why we have taken this course," she said.
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress had announced a substantial stimulus package, but it eventually led to a spike in inflation, the balance of payments crisis and currency depreciation.
On the issue of a bigger stimulus through monetization, she said all suggestions had been considered and this was the call that had been taken.
She countered the criticism from various quarters that the package was largely made up of supply-side measures and didn't contain much that would boost demand.
She said the package has been designed in such a way that every sector benefits, responding to the question that there was no direct support for stressed industries such as aviation and hospitality.
The measures announced by the finance minister included free food grains for the poor, support packages for micro small and medium enterprises and a host of sectors, easy loans for struggling business besides a slew of reforms aimed at creating a self-reliant India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 20 trillion stimulus package and the finance minister announced the allocation of the funding to various sectors over a series of five press conferences last week.
However, investors were disappointed by the measures announced. Indian share markets crashed over 3% on Monday as the measures announced failed to provide any near-term relief.
It is interesting to note that unlike the previous stimulus packages, this one is no longer a tiny fraction of India's GDP.
This is the largest stimulus package ever announced by India.
At about 10.2%, it is among the biggest stimulus packages announced over the past few months by governments all around the world. This is evident in the chart below:
Now, executing the package, keeping India's long-term economic interests in mind, will be the key.
Moving on to news from IT sector, shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Infotech rallied over 7% today after the company posted revenue growth of 4.7% in constant currency terms on a sequential basis in the March quarter (Q4FY20).
In rupee terms, the firm's revenue grew by 7.1% quarter on quarter (QoQ) at Rs 30.1 billion, while consolidated net profit rose 13% year-on-year to Rs 4.3 billion.
The company reported a 10.3% jump in profit before tax (PBT) at Rs 5.5 billion over the previous quarter.
The company said it won two large deals in Q4 with net-new TCV in excess of US$ 100 million, culminating in a record eight large deal wins in FY20.
The company's board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 15.50 per equity share of the face value of Rs 1 each.
L&T Infotech share price is presently trading up by 6.8%.
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