Stocks have recorded modest gains this morning after opening the day in the red.

Join us as we track the top business news through the day.

Rupee slips 18 paise to 75.81 against US dollar in early trade

Domestic economic uncertainty has weighed on the rupee, which depreciated against the dollar this morning.

PTI reports: "The rupee depreciated 18 paise to 75.81 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday amid strengthening American currency overseas and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Forex traders said the weakness in the rupee was largely due to the strengthening US dollar. Moreover, rising coronavirus cases in the country also weighed on the local unit.

The local unit opened weak at 75.77 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 75.81, down 18 paise over its last close.

It had settled at 75.63 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

Forex traders said market participants were concerned that the sharp rise in coronavirus cases could weigh on the economy."

India's services activity collapses as coronavirus palayses global economy

The contraction in service sector activity due to the lockdown has turned out to be far worse than what was expected.

Reuters reports: "India's services activity suffered a shock collapse in April as the coronavirus lockdown crippled global demand, causing a historic spike in layoffs and reinforcing fears of a deep recession in Asia's third-largest economy, a private survey showed.

The grim result for the industry, the engine of economic growth and jobs, underlined the pandemic's sweeping impact across India as authorities extended a nationwide lockdown, in effect since March 28, until May 17.

The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index plunged to an eye-popping 5.4 in April from March's 49.3, an unprecedented contraction since the survey first began over 14 years ago.

It also shattered a Reuters poll forecast of 40 and was way off the 50-level separating growth from contraction, with the single digit outcome marking by far the most extreme result among major economies.

“The extreme slide in the headline index, which fell by over 40 points, shows us that the strict lockdown measures have led to the sector essentially grinding to a complete standstill,” Joe Hayes, an economist at IHS Markit, said in a release.

The steep downturn in activity underlined the widespread havoc wrought by the pandemic worldwide, with many fearing the worst global recession since the 1930s."

Govt to gain Rs 1.6 lakh crore this fiscal from record excise duty hike on petrol, diesel

It looks like the steep hike in taxes on petrol and diesel will do good to the government's finances, which have been hit hard by the lockdown.

PTI reports: "The cash-strapped government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel, that will help make up for revenue it lost in a slowing economy and shutting down of businesses due to coronavirus lockdown.

Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

This is the second hike in excise duty in less than two months and will help government garner over Rs 1.7 lakh crore in additional revenues annually at 2019-20 level of consumption, industry officials said.

Considering the slump in consumption due to travel restrictions imposed by coronavirus lockdown, the gains in the remaining 11 months of the current fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021) will be close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore, they said.

Together with Rs 39,000 crore in annual revenues gained from the March 14 excise duty hike of Rs 3 per litre each on petrol and diesel, the government stands to gain as much as Rs 2 lakh crore."

Oil prices fall as rising U.S. inventories reassert supply concerns

Oil prices fell on Wednesday, ending a multi-day streak of gains, as investors focused on oversupply risks after U.S. crude inventories rose more than expected amid a slump in demand caused by restrictions to halt the coronavirus spread.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell as much as 2.1% to $24.05 a barrel and were down 14 cents at $24.41 a barrel at 0201 GMT. WTI has snapped a five-day winning streak.

Brent crude futures were flat at $30.97 a barrel.

Brent prices climbed 13.9% in the previous session, part of a six-day rise. Investors may be hesitant to increase their purchases of Brent as the contract has climbed too much over the past streak.

Sensex sheds over 200 points in early trade; Nifty below 9,200

The corporate earnings season isn't turning out to be great for the benchmark indices, which have seen some heavy selling this week.

PTI reports: "Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 200 points in early trade on Wednesday tracking losses in index-heavyweights ITC, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank amid rising concerns over the country’s economic outlook as COVID-19 cases spike.

The 30-share index was trading 256.76 points or 0.82 per cent lower at 31,196.75, and the NSE Nifty fell 77.60 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 9,128.

ITC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, tanking nearly 6 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Titan, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, M&M, L&T and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, NTPC, Reliance Industries and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer settled 261.84 points or 0.83 per cent lower at 31,453.51, and the NSE Nifty fell 87.90 points or 0.95 per cent to close at 9,205.60.

Foreign portfolio investors were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, as they offloaded equity shares worth Rs 1,059.39 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

According to traders, economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, muted corporate earnings and weak macroeconomic data are keeping investors wary."