Rs 1,000 now buys $13.5 against $14 a year ago.

Some analysts see more upside in FMCG stocks given the performance gap between the sector and the market.

There is positive correlation between crude oil prices and Indian equities and investors can expect more upside after the recent rally in Brent crude price.

Not surprisingly, equity investors are bidding-up stock prices across sectors and the broader market is now more valuable than pre-Covid levels.

While Bangladesh's per capita GDP in dollar terms is expected to grow 4 per cent in 2020 to $1,888, India's, on the other hand, is expected to decline 10.5 per cent to $1,877 - the lowest in the last four years.

This year, the combined net profit of 24 index companies, which have declared their June-20 numbers, has declined by 37 per cent year on year, while their revenues, including other income, is down by 21 per cent YoY so far.

The combined profit before tax of 748 companies, which have declared their results for Q1FY21, is down 46 per cent YoY. Their net sales went down by a quarter as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp fall in economic activity.

The current valuation is 38 per cent higher than the 10-year average of 22x and over 50 per cent higher than the 20-year average of around 20x.

In three of the past four years, 10-year returns have been 10 per cent or lower, making equity unattractive, compared to other asset classes.

The combined weight of IT companies in the benchmark Nifty 50 index is now at a five-year high of 15 per cent as these companies continue to outperform the broader market.

Equity investors should thank cash-rich biggies such as TCS, ITC, HUL, Nestl, and Bajaj Auto for this.

Though India was under lockdown for only seven days of the quarter, global demand and commodity prices began falling from February as COVID-19 was spreading in other countries. 1,002 listed companies - excluding banks, non-bank lenders, insurers, brokerages, and IT firms - reported a combined pre-tax loss of around Rs 2,700 crore during Q4.

In the last five years, imports from HK have more than tripled -- from $5.6 billion in FY15 to $17.1 billion in FY20. In the same period, exports declined by 20 per cent -- from $13.6 billion in FY15 to $10.8 billion (annualised) in FY20.

The trend in corporate earnings suggests that index earnings could fall to the levels last seen in early 2014.

Combined profit before tax of 81 firms down 37.5% y-o-y, worst show in at least 3 years.

RIL, however, remains miles ahead of TCS in other financial parameters such as total revenue, operating profit, net worth, assets, and market capitalisation.

Corporate revenues will decline for a third consecutive quarter in March on a YoY basis - one of the worst shows by these companies in many years.

Indians face COVID-19 with record debt, stalled income.

Profitability and cash reserves have halved since the global financial crisis.

The combined market capitalisation of the top 873 family-owned companies was down 26.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 61.8 trillion at the end of trading on Tuesday. It had grown 6 per cent in FY19 and nearly 20 per cent in FY18.