10 things you need to know before the opening bell

SUMMARY

Indian shares are set for a tepid start on Wednesday, after the benchmark indices rallied in the last two sessions on the back of strong overseas inflows. At 07:07 AM, the SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50's trend in India, was down 0.03 percent at 11,328.50, indicating a muted start for the Sensex and the Nifty.

By CNBC-TV18Mar 13, 2019 7:41:39 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asia: MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1 percent in slow trade. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.3 percent and Australia's main index slipped 0.4 percent. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were off 0.08 percent.

2. US: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96.22 points, or 0.38 percent, to 25,554.66, the S&P 500 gained 8.22 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,791.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 32.97 points, or 0.44 percent, to 7,591.03.

3. Markets At Close On Tuesday: The BSE benchmark Sensex soared over 481 points on intense buying mainly in financial, energy and telecom stocks amid strong foreign fund inflows and positive global cues. The 30-share index settled 481.56 points, or 1.30 percent, higher at 37,535.66. The broader NSE Nifty reclaimed the psychological 11,300-level and closed with gains of 133.15 points, or 1.19 percent, at 11,301.20.

4. Crude Oil: International Brent crude oil futures were at $66.93 a barrel at 0039 GMT, up 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. Brent touched $67.39 a barrel on Monday, its highest since February 25. US WTI crude futures were at $57.17 per barrel, up 30 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last settlement.

5. Rupee: The rupee closed at 69.70, up by 18 paise against the dollar on Tuesday.

6. Dollar: The dollar fell for a third straight session against a basket of currencies to stand at 96.986. The dollar was flat on the yen at 111.30, while the euro climbed to $1.1289 and away from last week's 20-month trough of $1.1174.

7. FIIs & DIIs: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,478 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 990 crore on March 12.

8. Retail Inflation And Industrial Production: Consumer Price Index (CPI) or retail inflation in February 2019 came in at 2.57 percent as against an 18-month low of 2.05 percent in January 2019. Industrial output growth stood at 1.7 percent in January on account of slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

9. Brexit: British lawmakers crushed Prime Minister Theresa May's European Union divorce deal on Tuesday, thrusting Britain deeper into crisis and forcing parliament to decide within days whether to back a no-deal Brexit or seek a last-minute delay. The vote puts the world's fifth largest economy in uncharted territory with no obvious way forward; exiting the EU without a deal, delaying the March 29 divorce date, a snap election or even another referendum are all now possible.

10. India Bans Boeing 737 Max Aircraft: India on Tuesday banned the use of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft by the country's airline companies following a deadly crash in Ethiopia involving the US passenger jet. "DGCA has taken the decision to ground the Boeing 737-MAX planes immediately. These planes will be grounded till appropriate modifications and safety measures are undertaken to ensure their safe operations," the ministry of civil aviation said in a tweet.