10 things to know before opening bell on Thursday

SUMMARY

SGX Nifty is trading at a discount of 15 points from Nifty Futures' Wednesday close, indicating a muted opening for Indian markets. Among major pre-market cues today, the US stock market indices closed higher on Wednesday, extending their weekly gains while Bitcoin price went below $37,000 after breaching the $39,000 level for the first time in two weeks. Here are 10 things to know before the opening bell on Thursday:

By CNBCTV18.COMFeb 3, 2022 8:18:15 AM IST (Updated)

Wall Street | The US stock market indices closed higher on Wednesday, extending their weekly gains. The S&P 500 rose 42.84 points, or 0.9%, to 4,589.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 224.09 points, or 0.6%, to 35,629.33. The Nasdaq rose 71.54 points, or 0.5%, to 14,417.55.

Asian Equities | Stocks rose on Wednesday amid a recovery in US shares spurred by the corporate earnings outlook and signs that Federal Reserve officials favour measured monetary-policy tightening. Equities advanced in Japan and Australia, among the few markets open in Asia due to the Lunar New Year holiday. U.S. Treasuries were little changed and a dollar gauge held a retreat.

D-Street | The Indian equity benchmark indices surged for the third straight session, to close at two-week highs on Wednesday on the heels of a 'growth-oriented' budget that stepped up on spending.

Crude Oil | Oil prices surged on Wednesday after OPEC+ stuck to their planned moderate output increases despite pressure from top consumers to raise output. Global benchmark brent crude edged up 31 cents to $89.47 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 6 cents to $88.26 a barrel.

Rupee | The rupee pared its initial gains to settle on a flat note at 74.83 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, even as the domestic equities closed on a positive note.

Gold | Gold prices in India fell on Wednesday continuing the volatile movement in recent days. On MCX, gold edged lower to Rs 47,768 per 10 gram, down about Rs 1,300 from last week's high of Rs 49,000. Silver futures rose 0.5% to Rs 61,645 per kg.

Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin price today went below $37,000 after breaching the $39,000 level for the first time in two weeks. The global cryptocurrency market capitalisation today slipped over 4% to $1.79 trillion, as per CoinGecko, dragged by the fall in crypto prices today.

Results Today | ITC, Titan Company, Lupin, Aditya Birla Capital, Adani Power, Adani Transmission, Cadila Healthcare, GAIL (India), Godrej Properties, India Pesticides, JK Tyre & Industries, Jubilant Industries, Kalyan Jewellers India, Pfizer, Torrent Power, and more will release their quarterly earnings today.

LIC IPO | The government will approve and notify amendments to India's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy that would allow the disinvestment in the state-run insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). The IPO of the life insurance behemoth is expected to be one of the biggest in the country, with the government aiming to raise close to $12 billion by selling a minority stake to the public.

Union Budget 2022 | FM Nirmala Sitharaman said predictable policies, consistency will take India to a $5 trillion economy. A heavy capex allocation, conservative tax goals, no relief for the salaried middle class and a new crypto tax were some of the key highlights of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's fourth budget. (Read here)