10 things you need to know before the opening bell on April 16

SUMMARY

The Indian market is likely to open little higher tracking the SGX Nifty that was trading 48 points higher at 8,881 at 7:18 am. However, fall in Asian peers as the coronavirus pandemic concerns weigh on investor sentiment may limit gains in domestic markets.

By CNBC-TV18Apr 16, 2020 7:49:57 AM IST (Published)

1. Asia: Stocks in Asia fell in Thursday morning trade as concerns over the scale of the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on sentiment. The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 1.27 percent in early trade while the Topix index dropped 1.23 percent. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.57 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.86 percent as shares of major banks fell at least 2 percent each. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.5 percent lower.

2. US: Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes fell in the overnight session Wednesday evening as investors awaited key jobless claims data on Thursday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 180 points shortly after the opening of extended trading, implying an opening fall of 178 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also pointed to lower opening moves on Thursday. The overnight moves followed a slump during the regular trading session on Wednesday as gloomy economic data and anemic bank earnings fueled concerns over the coronavirus’s impact on the U.S. economy.

3. Market At Close On Wednesday: The benchmark indices pared morning highs to end on a negative note on Wednesday dragged by losses in banking and financial space. Index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, HDFC, Kotak Bank, and Maruti contributed most to the losses. The Sensex ended 310 points lower at 30,380, while the Nifty50 shed 68 points to end at 8,925.

4. Crude Oil: Oil dropped to its lowest level in more than 18 years on Wednesday amid reports suggesting persistent oversupply and collapsing demand due to global coronavirus-related lockdowns could continue to hammer prices. The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday forecasted a 29 million barrel per day (bpd) dive in April oil demand to levels not seen in 25 years. Brent crude fell $1.91, or 6.45 percent, to settle at $27.69. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 1.19 percent, to settle at $19.87 per barrel, its lowest settle since February 2002.

5. Rupee Close: The Indian rupee fell against the US dollar amid a broad strength in the US dollar. The rupee fell to 76.49 at day's low before settling 16 paise lower at 76.44, a record closing low. Opening at 75.97 per dollar, the rupee strengthened to 75.95 at day's high before giving up gains.

6. SC Considers Centre's Stand On Helping Poor: The Supreme Court took note of the Centre's submission on Wednesday that it was taking steps to implement relief measures to help the poor during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic and disposed of a PIL seeking relief such as financial help and food for them. The apex court, through video conferencing, was hearing the PIL field by activist Swami Agnivesh seeking immediate relief for poor, homeless and all economically weaker sections during the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 or novel coronavirus.

7. Revenue Department Issues Rs 10, 000 Crore Refunds: In a bid to fast-track stuck and pending refunds the tax department is understood to have released about Rs 10,000 crore of pending refunds till April 14. This including about Rs 4,250 crore of income tax refunds and about Rs 5,029 crore of input tax credit refund under the Goods and Services Tax regime.

8. Growth May Slip Into Negative, Says Former RBI Governor C Rangarajan: Predicting that the growth rate in the first quarter of the current fiscal may slip into negative, former RBI governor C Rangarajan on Wednesday expressed the view that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's lockdown extension announcement should have included plans to address the issues of migrant labourers and daily wagers.

9. IMF Chief Gita Gopinath On India's Fight Against The Pandemic: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath has said that if the coronavirus pandemic isn’t controlled in the second half of 2020, it could result in a 6 percent contraction of the global economy. She asserted that India could do more to contain the virus and its impact, and added that the country hasn't approached the IMF for aid. “Our baseline scenario is that the pandemic is brought under control by the second half of 2020, if the pandemic is not contained in the second half of this year, the world could see a 6 percent contraction,” Gopinath told CNBC-TV18. She said that there is a possibility of the pandemic’s impact lingering beyond the current year.

10. Will Bring 15-20% Workforce, Says Nasscom: Industry body Nasscom on Wednesday said it will bring back employees on work premises in a phased manner, starting with 15-20 percent of workforce, to comply with the guidelines issued by the Home Ministry amid the nationwide lockdown. (Representational Image)