Share markets in India have erased early gains and are presently trading marginally higher. Benchmark indices continued their rally with the BSE Sensex rising over 200 points in early trade, hitting a new intraday high of 40,676, while Nifty rose above 12,000.

Sectoral indices are trading mixed with stocks in the automobile sector and oil & gas sector witnessing selling pressure, while realty stocks and consumer durable stocks are witnessing buying interest.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 69 points while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 17 points. The BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.7%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.5%.

The rupee is trading at 71.01 against the US$.

The domestic currency hit a three-week low against the US$ tracking losses in other Asian currencies amid reports that the signing of the trade deal between the US and China may be delayed till December.

The rupee opened at 71.09 per dollar and touched a low of 71.12.

On Wednesday, the rupee snapped its three-session winning streak and tumbled 28 paise to close at 70.97 against the US$ as continuing uncertainty over the US-China trade deal affected currency market sentiment worldwide.

According to a Reuters poll, a slowing domestic economy will prevent rupee from recouping this year's losses against the dollar in 2020, with optimism around an easing in the US-China trade dispute not enough to give it a further boost.

The domestic unit had touched a low of 72.40 per dollar on September 4. Since then, it has recovered nearly 2% amid hopes of a possible trade deal between the world's two largest economies.

Speaking of currencies, Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, tells you the main reasons why not to trade commodities and currencies the same way you would trade equities. Here's an excerpt of what he wrote...

• Currencies are traded in pairs and the most liquid is the USDINR. Currencies are traded in four decimal points just as bonds are. The international derivative trader's association has indicated that forex may be traded in 6 decimals in the coming few years.
  
  It takes months sometimes for the currency pair to pass the next round figure, say from 70 to 71.
  
  Can you really trade commodities and currencies alike or for that matter, equities and currencies alike? Definitely not!

In news from the steel sector, Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a 6% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated profit at Rs 33 billion for the quarter ended September 30, on one-time deferred tax gain of Rs 43.7 billion.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 31.2 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company's total revenues declined by 15.4% to Rs 345.8 billion during Q2FY20.

Consolidated EBITDA of the company plunged 56.6% to Rs 38.2 billion in the September quarter. The figure stood at Rs 88 billion in the same period last year. Margins declined sharply to 11% from 21.5% on a yearly basis.

Moving on to news from the pharma sector, Lupin on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,234.4 million for the Q2FY20, impacted by provisioning for one-time payment to settle a lawsuit in the US and loss in divestment of injectables business in Japan.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,664.5 million in the same quarter previous year.

The firm said it has agreed to pay Rs 4,500.6 million as settlement in connection with the lawsuit in the US and, accordingly, a provision of Rs 3,791.8 million has been made during the quarter.

Lupin's Q2FY20 numbers were boosted by Rs 1.4 billion of income earned from licensing out a new chemical entity, but one-offs related to US lawsuits and losses on divestment in Japan pulled down the overall performance.

In a regulatory filing, Lupin said that total revenue from operations stood at Rs 43.6 billion for the second quarter as against Rs 39.5 billion in the year-ago period.

Besides, the divestment of Kyowa CritiCare Co (KCC) was completed during the period with the resultant loss on divestment pegged at Rs 1.7 billion, it added.

Lupin share price is presently trading down by 4.4%.

To know more, you can read Lupin's latest result analysis on our website.

Speaking of quarterly results and corporate profits, economic growth (GDP) and corporate profit growth hardly go hand in hand.

Over the past few years, the share of corporate profits to GDP has steadily declined.

This is evident in the chart below:

Rebound in Corporate Profits May Not Immediately Reflect in GDP

As per Tanushree Banerjee, the revival of capex cycle may cause corporate profits to soar much faster than the GDP growth. Investors who stay focused on macro numbers may miss this bus.