Indian stocks tumble as economic package disappoints; bank shares fall – Gulf Today

Indian stocks tumble as economic package disappoints; bank shares fall – Gulf Today

The package was billed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 20 trillion rupees ($265 billion) in fiscal and monetary measures, or about 10% of India's gross domestic product (GDP), but economists say the direct fiscal outlay amounts to less than 1% of GDP.. On Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India would stop fresh insolvency cases for a year to avoid bankruptcies from firms hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing banking stocks to plunge on Monday.. "It will affect slippages and recoveries for banks in a big way," Jasani said, referring to a fresh jump in bad loans.. Other Asian shares were led higher by S&P 500 futures on Monday as countries' efforts to re-open their economies raised hopes of a pick up in economic activity.. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown from March 25 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, but Asia's third-largest economy has taken a huge hit as a result, with almost all economic activity coming to a grinding halt..