Indian cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav on Thursday expressed condolences to the families affected in the Vizag gas leakage mishap. Yadav took to Twitter and wrote: "Praying for everyone affected in Vizag. Condolences to the bereaved families #VizagGasLeak.

Praying for everyone affected in Vizag. Condolences to the bereaved families 🙏🏻 #VizagGasLeak

— Umesh Yaadav (@y_umesh) May 7, 2020

"A gas tragedy now??? Omg.. The visuals are so disturbing. God !!! Please have mercy," Ashwin tweeted. Badminton player Kidambi Srikanth also tweeted about the incident which has left eight people dead, saying it is disturbing to hear about the mishap.

A gas tragedy now??? Omg.. The visuals are so disturbing. God !!! Please have mercy🙏

— lets stay indoors India 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) May 7, 2020

"Disturbing to hear about the #VizagGasLeak. Hope affected people recover soon and my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Stay safe Vizag!" Kidambi Srikanth tweeted.

Around 120 people have been admitted to the hospital after a styrene gas leak in RR Venkatapuram village. The mishap took place at the LG Polymers industry early on Thursday morning.

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India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar enjoyed a fine snack prepared by his daughter Sara, 22, and happily shared his experience on social media.

Sara prepared a plate of beetroot kebabs for her father on Thursday and he simply loved them. Sachin shared this picture on Instagram, holding up a plate full of beetroot kebabs (left). Alongside, he posted another picture (right) of the plate, but this time it was empty. "Gone in 60 seconds! Thanks for the fabulous beetroot kebabs @saratendulkar," Sachin captioned his post that went on to receive nearly one million 'likes' within a few hours.

In an Instagram story, Sachin added that Sara also prepared a Tabbouleh (a Lebanese vegetarian salad), which was also a hit with the family, who are currently in lockdown at their Bandra home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This was over before we could say Tabbouleh," wrote Sachin.

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Covid-19 related deaths within the UK's care homes for the elderly and vulnerable doubled within just one week, according to data collected and analysed by a leading representative body for the not-for-profit adult social care sector. The National Care Forum (NCF) report, released on Saturday, demonstrates 2,500 deaths within care homes within seven days, figures which it says highlights significant flaws in the current national reporting of coronavirus related death toll in the UK. It is hoped that this analysis will provide insight and impetus for the government to better address the needs of the care sector, the NCF said. The group's research came as pressure mounts on the British government to start counting deaths within the wider community and care homes to its daily hospital toll figures, which hit 15,464 on this week. Amid concerns that the national statistics presented by the government for coronavirus related mortality rates were not incorporating figures of deaths within residential and nursing homes, the NCF said it led an independent benchmarking exercise.

As many as 47 of its care provider members contributed to the audit, representing 1,169 care services that collectively support 30,217 people across the UK - 7.4 per cent of the overall residential care sector population. The resulting sample analysis suggests that a total of 4,040 people may have died of the deadly virus within UK residential and nursing services before April 13.

The figure of more than 4,000 people passing away of Covid-19 within care homes in little more than one month is devastating. Every death is a loss and a tragedy, said Vic Rayner, Executive Director of the National Care Forum. It is even more worrying to see a virtual doubling of deaths within homes in just one week, clearly indicating that whilst all attention has been on managing the peak in hospitals, the virus has attacked our most vulnerable communities, she said. The NCF said the data should be a wake up call to the government and society as a whole to recognise that its official whatever it takes approach has to be applied equally.

By highlighting the scale of the tragedy, we are giving the government an opportunity to respond with equal effort. It must act immediately and build a `ring of steel' around care homes. They need the right PPE [personal protective equipment], medical monitoring devices, rapid and comprehensive testing, proper funding and intensive research to safeguard the people they care for, Rayner added. The UK's Department of Health has repeatedly explained the focus on hospital deaths in its daily death toll tally on the time lag involved in care home deaths being collated. "Every death from this virus is a tragedy and that is why we are working around the clock to give the social care sector the equipment and support they need to tackle this global pandemic," a DoH spokesperson said.

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A man disguised as a police officer went on a shooting rampage in Canada's Nova Scotia province, killing 16 people, in the deadliest such attack in the country's history, officials said, adding that the suspected gunman was also dead.

On Sunday, several bodies were found inside and outside a residence in the small town of Portapique, about 100 km north of Halifax, what police called the first scene, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) said in a news report.

Bodies were also found at other locations.

Overnight, police began advising residents of the town, already on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, to lock their doors and stay in their basements.

Several homes in the area were set on fire as well.

Police identified the man believed to be the shooter as Gabriel Wortman, 51, who was thought to live part-time in Portapique.

Authorities said he wore a police uniform at one point and made his car look like a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer.

Police first announced that they had arrested Wortman at a gas station in Enfield, outside Halifax, but later said he had died. It was not clear how, and they did not explain further.

RCMP spokesman Daniel Brien confirmed that 16 people had been killed in addition to the suspect, the CBC reported.

While they believe the attack did not begin as random, police did not say what the initial motive was.

RCMP Chief Superintendent Chris Leather said many of the victims did not know the shooter.

"That fact that this individual had a uniform and a police car at his disposal certainly speaks to it not being a random act," Leather was quoted as saying in the CBC news report.

He added that police believe he acted alone, adding that gunfire was exchanged between police and the suspect at one point.

In an update on Sunday evening, RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki said the incident was not being considered terror-related at this time.

Lucki said she believed the shooter had an initial "motivation" at the beginning that "turned to randomness".

"This is one of the most senseless acts of violence in our province's history," the CBC report quoted Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil as saying.

In a statement, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "As a country, in moments like these, we come together to support one another. Together we will mourn with the families of the victims, and help them get through this difficult time."

The number of victims in the Sunday rampage exceeds the shooting at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989, which killed 14 women and injured 14 others in 1989.

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Seoul: The US is looking into intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "in grave danger after a surgery", a media report said on Tuesday.

The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency quoted a CNN report which cited an unidentified "US official with direct knowledge" as saying, but offered no further details.

The report came after a South Korean internet news outlet reported that Kim has been receiving medical treatment at a villa in the resort county of Hyangsan, outside of Pyongyang, following a cardiovascular procedure.

Speculation has increased about what happened to Kim since he apparently skipped an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.

Kim was last seen on April 11 in state media reports presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus".

Kim took over as leader after his father and late leader Kim Jong-il died in late 2011.

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Oil is doing something that is even making Market veterans shake their heads in wonder. After shedding more than 300 per cent or $56 a barrel in one single day on Monday, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery gained some ground early on Tuesday, recovering 103 per cent to come back in the positive zone at $1.35 a barrel.

But analysts expect that bloodbath in US oil market may continue well into Tuesday when May future contracts are expiring and traders still left with long positions facing actual delivery of oil may look to liquidate their stock even if they have to pay to do this. In simple terms this means that traders do not want to store crude by taking actual delivery for May and incur cost while not finding any buyers in the absence of demand that has also shrunk sharply by more than a third in Covid-19 pandemic.

"We could again see price of oil in US going into the negative zone on Tuesday. But this could be a lot less sharper than what was witnessed on Monday," said an oil sector analyst asking not to be named.

He said that lower oil prices bore good for India but how much oil companies can gain from US fall is uncertain as the Indian oil companies are not very active in the US markets and trade very small quantities in the spot market. Still some of this oil could be contracted if freight arrangements are worked out on time.

While US oil has shown significant fall, Brent has maintained a fairly steady path. The benchmark Brent oil is still hovering at $ 25 a barrel. The US WTI for June delivery is still keeping its heads up at over $ 20 a barrel. But it would be seen if Covid-19 situation improves in coming days and demand picks up. Otherwise, June oil futures can go the May way.

The decline of oil prices comes despite the recent output cut agreement between the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.

There were hopes that agreement would stabilise oil prices, but with the Covid-19 pandemic continuing, there has been a large slip in demand that is not letting a pick-up in oil prices.

The current market is oversupplied on shrinking demand, creating a situation of free fall for crude.

The price of oil has now reached a point that it is increasingly becoming difficult for higher cost producers to remain in operation and rather look at declaring bankruptcy.

A lot of US shale producers are in deep trouble and analysts expect that low oil price for few more months will result in a spate of bankruptcies in the US.

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President Donald Trump has said he will place a pause on the issuance of new green cards for the next 60 days as part of his efforts to protect American workers. He also confirmed that he would sign on Wednesday an order partially blocking immigration to the US.

Trump, seeking re-election in November, said his executive order to ban immigration will last for 60 days and apply only to those seeking permanent residence in the country and exempt temporary workers.

"It will help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as US reopens. It would be wrong and unjust for Americans to be replaced with immigrants flown in from abroad," he said.

The US — with 45,000 deaths and over 8,25,000 infections -- is the world's hardest-hit country. About 22 million Americans have lost their jobs since the outbreak.
Meanwhile, a study funded by the National Institute of Health stated that the plan to use hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 patients has received a setback with more deaths being reported among those who were given the drug, according to a report.

Missouri sues Chinese govt

The US state of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government, the ruling Communist Party of China, and other Chinese officials and institutions, alleging that Chinese officials are "responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians." China dismissed as "nothing short of absurdity" and violation of sovereignty the lawsuit.

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be back at work in 10 Downing Street on Monday, after recovering ving a London hospital in his fight against the novel coronavirus, Xinhua news agency stated after citing British media reports on Saturday night. Johnson told his cabinet colleagues that he will be back to his normal schedule following his treatment in St. Thomas' Hospital in London for COVID-19. Depending on doctors' advice, Johnson may host Monday's daily Downing Street news conference and possibly take on the new Labour leader Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sky News reported.

"He is 'raring to go' and will be back Monday," Sky News noted, citing a Downing Street source. Johnson said on April 12 that he had left the hospital "after a week in which the NHS has saved my life, no question." Johnson, who spent three nights in intensive care in the hospital, spent a week in Chequers, the prime minister's country house after leaving hospital.

"He had a Chequers meeting with advisers on Friday and he will be meeting the (British) health secretary, Matt Hancock, and getting back to his normal schedule," Sky News reported. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is also the first secretary of state, had been deputized by Johnson to carry out his duties during his illness.

Earlier in the day, the British Department of Health said that a further 813 people had died of COVID-19 as of 1600 GMT on Friday, bringing the death toll to 20,319 and making UK the fifth nation globally to pass the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths, after the United States, Italy, Spain and France. Care home deaths and those in the community are still excluded from the British tally.

The UK-wide figure has doubled in less than two weeks. A total of 148,377 people have now tested positive for the virus in the country, a jump of 4,913 in 24 hours.

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New Zealand reported five new Coronavirus cases Monday as the nation got ready to ease the rules on a strict lockdown from midnight. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there hasn't been widespread community transmission of the virus and the country has so far managed to avoid the worst scenarios for an outbreak.

She said it would continue to hunt down the last few cases. From midnight, certain businesses such as construction will be allowed to reopen, but social distancing rules will still apply. Ardern said the nation was opening up the economy, but not people's social lives.

S Korea to reopen schools
South Korea reported only 10 new cases, its 26th straight day below 100 as officials mulled reopening schools amid the slowing caseload. The figures released by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday brought the national totals to 10,738 cases and 243 deaths.

At least 1,044 infections have been linked to international arrivals, but such cases have also declined in recent weeks amid tightened border controls.

Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun during a virus meeting Monday instructed education officials to prepare measures to ensure hygiene and enforce distance between students at schools so the government could announce a timeline for reopening schools no later than early May.

More US states to reopen
In the US, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee are also preparing to reopen economy, Reuters reported. Georgia, Oklahoma, Alaska and South Carolina had already started easing restrictions. "I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not. They're saying, 'Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,'" Royal Rose, 39, owner of a tattoo studio in Greeley, Colorado, told Reuters.

According to reports, the states have started easing lockdown without ensuring measures to trace the asymptomatic cases. Several health experts have warned that a hurry in easing lockdown may lead to a fresh wave of infections. Meanwhile, the White House said the jobless rate would be 16 per cent or higher this month. A record 26.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a fertiliser factory completion ceremony, state media reported on Saturday, his first public appearance after 20 days of absence that sparked rumours about his health.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim cut the tape at the ceremony marking the completion of Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang, on Friday. Photos released by KCNA showed Kim, dressed in a dark Mao suit, cutting the red ribbon during the ceremony and talking to accompanying officials with a smile on his face.

"All the participants broke into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader who has brought about a new change in the development of Juche-based fertilizer industry and has led the grand revolutionary advance for strengthening self-supporting economy to a victory with his outstanding leadership," KCNA said. Juche is the concept of self-reliance.

Kim was also quoted as expressing "satisfaction about the wonderful creation". In a report last week, CNN had said that the US was looking into intelligence that Kim Jong-un was in "grave danger" after surgery.

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The US food and drug regulatory body has allowed the emergency use of an investigational anti-viral vaccine to treat COVID-19 patients after some researches, including one led by an Indian-American physician, found that the drug helped recover some of the infected cases faster.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the use of investigational anti-viral Remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. "I'm pleased to announce that Gilead now has an EUA from the FDA for Remdesivir," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

Remdesivir is given to patients through a vein one time each day for up to 10 days depending on recommendations of healthcare providers. The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced the results of a trial involving more than 1,000 people on Wednesday.

It found that hospitalised COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress got better quicker than those on a placebo. Specifically, patients on the drug had a 31 percent faster time to recovery. "Although the results were clearly positive from a statistically significant standpoint, they were modest," Anthony Fauci, the scientist who leads the NIAID, said. While not considered a miracle cure, Remdesivir's trial achieved a "proof of concept," according to Fauci that could pave the way for better treatments.

Possible side effects of Remdesivir include infusion-related reactions and increases in levels of liver enzymes. "These are not all the possible side effects of Remdesivir. It is still being studied so it is possible that all of the risks are not known at this time," said the FDA.

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In a touching gesture, a bride ensured her grandmother staying in an assisted home gets to be a part of her wedding by visiting her on her big day amid the Coronavirus scare. Shauna Varner from Minnesota stopped at nothing to involve her grandmother Janis Krueger in her wedding, even if it was from behind the glass door.

Varner and her fiancé Travis Scepaniak had planned a big wedding but had to call it off and smaller ceremony with a small number of guests due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As it was impossible to get Krueger out of the assisted home, Varner came up with an idea to get the administration there involved to help her.

The assisted home shared the heartfelt moment of  Varner making her bridal debut in front of Janice on their Facebook page, with the caption that read, “COVID-19 cannot stop true love.” The post, which concluded with the home conveying their wishes to the couple, also read that love radiated between the grandmother-granddaughter duo as soon as the bride got out of her car.

The post shared last week garnered more than 105680 views on Facebook with over 2,600 likes and was shared 531 times. Users commenting the video praised the bride’s gesture and conveyed their best wishes to the couple.

A user said, “This is so sweet that they would come to visit Grama and make her part of their special day! Congratulations to the happy couple and your families! Your dress is beautiful and the groom looks pretty good too!” Another user said, “How beautiful grandma could still participate ! Love has no boundaries ! Wonderful that the facility help make a dream come true!” One user said, “Wow!!! Goosebumps and tears! How very special!”

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From the US to Europe and Asia, people in many parts of the world are emerging from their homes as virus-related restrictions begin to ease and springtime temperatures climb.

Chinese were flocking to tourist spots, many newly reopened, after a relaxation of domestic travel restrictions ahead of a five-day holiday that runs through Tuesday.

Nearly 1.7 million people visited Beijing parks on the first two days of the holiday, and Shanghai's main tourist spots welcomed more than a million visitors, according to Chinese media reports. Many spots limited the number of daily visitors to 30 per cent of capacity or less, keeping crowds below average.

Masks were worn widely, from runners in Spain to beach-goers in the southern US. "It's great to have an audience after all these weeks," saxophonist Julia Banholzer, a native of Germany, said.

New Jersey reopened state parks, though several had to turn people away after reaching a 50 per cent limit in their parking lots. Margie Roebuck and her husband were among the first on the sand at Island Beach State Park. "Forty-six days in the house was enough," she said.

In Spain, many ventured out Saturday for the first time since a lockdown began on March 14. "I feel good, but tired. You sure notice that it has been a month and I am not in shape," Cristina Palomeque said in Barcelona. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez asked citizens to remain vigilant. COVID-19 has caused over 25,100 deaths in Spain.

The divide in the US between those who want lockdowns to end and those who want to move cautiously extended to Congress. The Republican-majority Senate will reopen Monday, while the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives stays shuttered.

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The number of Coronavirus deaths in the US will jump to over 3,000 and new cases to about 2,00,000 per day by June 1, an internal draft report has said, even as over two dozen US states announced to open up their economy amid the health crisis.

The US is the worst-hit country from the pandemic. By Monday, over 1.2 million Americans tested positive for COVID-19 and the total number of fatalities crossed 69,000.

Multiple media reports on Monday quoted the draft report projecting the horrifying figures. "The numbers underscore a sobering reality: while the US has been hunkered down for the past seven weeks, not much has changed. And the reopening to the economy will make matters worse," The New York Times reported.

"There remains a large number of counties whose burden continues to grow," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned according to the daily.
However, both the White House and the CDC disavowed the report. The slides carry the CDC's logo, The Washington Post reported. The projection was prepared by Justin Lessler, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"I had no role in the process by which that was presented and shown. This data was presented as an FYI to CDC. it was not in any way intended to be a forecast," Lessler told The Washington Post. "There are reopening scenarios where it could get out of control very quickly," he said.

US gave no proof on COVID-19 origin: UN

The WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan said on Monday it has received no evidence from the US government to back up allegations by President Donald Trump that virus could have originated at a laboratory in Wuhan. "From our perspective, this remains speculative."

4 new cases in S Korea, China

China and South Korea, which had early, intense outbreaks of the COVID-19, together reported only four new infections on Tuesday and were slowly resuming public events after months of containment efforts. While South Korea reported three new cases, China reported one.

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[Source: Research & Innovation] Generating safe antigens to induce immunity is one of several key steps in vaccine production. Purification is another, and it is typically a complex process. EU-funded researchers have designed a way to simplify the process, boost yields, limit waste and reduce costs, in a bid to help make more doses available more affordably.

India is to receive bank account information from HSBC, after Switzerland's highest court ruled that the bank is obligated to provide data requested where the leaked data has not been purchased.

Officials from Switzerland and India have discussed the automatic exchange of tax information and free trade.

On May 28, 2019, Dutch State Secretary for Finance Menno Snel issued an update on the Government's 2019 fiscal agenda, which includes an outline of tax legislative proposals that the Government intends to submit to parliament in the remainder of the year.

Indian share markets ended their trading session lower yesterday.

Benchmark indices edged lower tracking weak global cues as investors fretted over weak economic data and rising COVID-19 cases.

Barring energy stocks, all sectoral indices ended on a negative note with stocks in the power sector, telecom sector and consumer durables sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

At the closing bell yesterday, the�BSE Sensex stood lower by 242 points and the�NSE Nifty�closed down by 72 points.

The SGX Nifty�was trading at 9,200, down by 53 points, at the time of writing.

The�BSE Mid Cap�index and the�BSE Small Cap�index ended their day down by 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, after a sharp rally in the past few weeks, the markets have turned volatile again.

You would be interested in knowing when the market will likely bottom out.

Vijay Bhambwani, editor of Weekly Cash Alerts, has the answer and he has recorded a video about it.

You can check the same here -�This is When the Stock Market Will Bottom Out

Also, our special report, How to Trade the Coronavirus Crash, is the most comprehensive report on how to trade the coronavirus, both from a short-term and long-term perspective. You can�claim your FREE copy here...

Top Stocks in Focus Today

From the pharma sector, Dr Reddy's Laboratories share price will be in focus as the company announced that the its NDA (new drug application) Elyxyb ((celecoxib oral solution 25 mg/mL) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The drug is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

From the IT sector, HCL Technologies share price will also be in focus as the company reported a 22.8% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 31.5 billion compared with Rs 25.7 billion in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter rose 16.3% YoY to Rs 185.9 billion from Rs 159.9 billion reported in the year-ago quarter. In dollar terms, revenue rose 11.7% YoY to US$ 2,543.40 million from US$ 2,277.80 million. On a sequential basis, dollar sales were flat. Sales growth in constant currency terms rose 13.5% YoY to US$ 2,584.60 million.

To know more about the company, you can read HCL Technologies' Q4FY20 result analysis on our website.

Market participants will also be tracking RBL Bank share price, Cyient share price and Gillette share price as these companies announced their March quarter results yesterday.

You can read our recently released Q4FY20 results of other companies here: Ambuja Cement,�IndusInd Bank,�Axis Bank,�Tech Mahindra,�HUL,�Reliance Industries,�Marico, Kansai Nerolac, NIIT Technologies, Persistent Systems.

GSK Sells Stake in HUL via Block Deal

From the FMCG sector, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) share price will be in focus as the UK-based Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) offloaded its stake in HUL via block deals yesterday.

According to the term sheet, over 133 million shares are being offered in the range of Rs 1,850-1,950 to investors through a special block window. The deal will be valued roughly between Rs 246 billion to Rs 259 billion.

GSK and�Horlicks�are selling up to US$ 3.4 billion worth of HUL shares through what could be India's biggest secondary market block trades.

The British drug maker is looking to monetise about 5.7% of�HUL stock it had got after last year's merger of GSK Consumer Healthcare and HUL.

As per the scheme of amalgamation amongst GSK Consumer Healthcare and HUL, GlaxoSmithKline Pte had received 54.08 million shares of HUL, meanwhile Horlicks received 79.69 million shares.

Accordingly, parent company Unilever Plc and group companies' stake in HUL reduced to 61.9%, from 67.2% earlier after the issue of new shares.

Yes Bank Q4FY20 Results

Yes Bank reported better-than-expected March quarter (Q4FY20) results.

Yes Bank�posted a net profit of Rs 26.3 billion on the back of one-time gain attributed to an exceptional item of Rs 63 billion.

The bank has written-down additional tier-1 bonds as part of its planned reconstruction scheme, leading to a one-time gain of Rs 63 billion.

In the absence of the exceptional gain, the bank would have reported a net loss of Rs 36.7 billion.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 15.1 billion a year ago, while the same was Rs 185.6 billion in Q3FY20.

The bank's net interest income (NII) for the March quarter came in at Rs 12.7 billion, up 19.6% sequentially.

Net interest margin (NIM) for Q4FY20 came in at 1.9%, compared to 3.1% a year ago.

On the asset quality front, gross non-performing assets (NPA) fell 19% QoQ to Rs 328.8 billion, mostly on account of write-offs.

The bank's deposits plunged to Rs 1.05 lakh crore, down 54% YoY compared with Rs 2.27 lakh crore.

Meanwhile, Advances declined 29% YoY to Rs 1.7 lakh crore from Rs 2.4 lakh crore in the year-ago quarter.

For the financial year 2019-20 (FY20), the private lender posted a loss of Rs 164.2 billion, on a standalone basis, compared to net profit of Rs 17.2 billion in the previous year.

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

Speaking of the banking sector, the low access to credit for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) tells us there is a huge opportunity for lenders.

This is evident from the chart below:

India's Huge Lending Opportunity

Of the 60 million MSMEs in India, only 11% had access to credit from organised lenders. Most of them are self-financed or get credit from unorganised sources.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about this in one of the editions of�The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Self-financing limits the growth of these MSMEs. On the other hand, high interest rates from unorganised sources makes it difficult for them to earn profits.
  
  The Modi government is looking at various ways�to correct this problem. Mudra loans, online loans facilities are being made available to MSMEs.
  
  Slowly but surely, lenders are sensing the huge opportunity that lies ahead for this sector.
  
  Banks and other financial firms with prudent lending practices and strong distribution networks will benefit from this�megatrend.

Tanushree is counting on 7 top stocks from the Indian stock market that will benefit from this megatrend.

As per her, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the�Rebirth of India.�You can read about them here.

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent�share market updates here.

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