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

SUMMARY

The Indian stock market is set to open higher on Tuesday following positive trade data and monsoon forecast. India's exports grew significantly by 11 percent to $32.55 billion in March on account of higher growth in various sectors. India's trade deficit narrowed to $10.89 billion as compared to $13.51 billion in the corresponding period last year. However, the gains will be limited as Asian stocks traded little changed after disappointing bank earnings in US dented Wall Street. Positive signs for the global economy may limit losses in global markets. At 07:20 AM, the SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the Nifty 50's trend in India, was down 0.12 at 11,751.50, indicating a weak start for the Sensex and Nifty.

By CNBC-TV18Apr 16, 2019 8:42:52 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asia: MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed by mid-morning. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.1 percent. South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.1 percent, Australian stocks added 0.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.2 percent.

2. US: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 27.53 points, or 0.1 percent, to 26,384.77, the S&P 500 lost 1.83 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,905.58 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 8.15 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,976.01.

3. Markets At Close On Monday: The Indian market ended higher on Monday, in line with Asian peers, as TCS and Tata Motors boosted the indices. TCS and Infosys reported their March-quarter results after market hours on Friday. The results come at a time when the country is at the polls to elect its next government. The BSE Sensex ended at 38,906, up 139 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 settled at 11,690, adding 47 points. Nifty Midcap gained 0.4 percent, and Nifty Smallcap index outperformed, rising 0.5 percent.

4. Crude Oil: Brent crude oil futures were at $71.08 a barrel at 0111 GMT, down 10 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. Brent ended down 0.5 percent on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.39 per barrel, down 2 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their previous settlement. WTI fell 0.8 percent on Monday.

5. Rupee: The rupee closed at 69.42, down 47 paise against the US dollar on Tuesday.

6. Dollar: The dollar, which tends to underperform when risk appetite increases, was a shade lower at 96.924 against a basket of six major currencies, extending overnight losses.

7. FIIs & DIIs: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 713 crore on a net basis, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 581 crore on April 15.

8. IMD Forecast on Monsoon: India is likely to receive near-normal monsoon rains in 2019, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday, easing concerns over farm output and economic growth in Asia’s third-biggest economy where half the farmland lacks irrigation. The IMD's first long-range forecast for the south-west monsoon on Monday said that El-Nino conditions will weaken in coming months. The June-September monsoon season is likely to see 96 percent of the long-period average (LPA) rainfall, IMD said in a statement. The IMD defines average or normal rainfall as between 96 percent and 104 percent of a 50-year average of 89 cm for the entire four-month season.

9. Import-Export Data: India's exports rose to a five-month high of 11 percent in March on account of higher growth mainly in pharma, chemicals and engineering sectors, marking the outbound shipments at $331 billion for FY 2018-19, official data showed on Monday.

Merchandise exports in March stood at $32.55 billion as against $29.32 billion in the same month last year. This is the best growth rate for exports since October 2018, when shipments grew by 17.86 percent. Imports rose by 1.44 percent to $43.44 billion in March 2019. Trade deficit narrowed to $10.89 billion during the month under review as compared to $13.51 billion in March 2018.

10. EU-US Trade Talks:European Union countries gave final clearance on Monday to start formal trade talks with the United States after months of delay due to resistance from France. The Commission, which coordinates trade policy for the 28-member European Union, wants to start negotiations on two tracks -- one to cut tariffs on industrial goods, the other to make it easier for companies to show products meet EU or US standards.