10 things you need to know before the opening bell on April 7

SUMMARY

Indian market is staring at a higher opening on Tuesday following its global peers as they returned with a sharp rebound on hopes of pandemic stabilising. At 7:10 am, the SGX Nifty traded 10 points higher at 8,471, hinting at a positive opening for the Sensex and Nifty.

By CNBCTV18.comApr 7, 2020 7:32:58 AM IST (Published)

1. Asia: Stocks in Asia jumped in Tuesday morning trade on rising hopes as the spread of the global coronavirus pandemic appeared to slow. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 surged 3 percent in early trade while the Topix index gained 2.66 percent. Over in South Korea, the Kospi rose 2.18 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.73 percent higher.

2. US: Stock futures rose in overnight trading on Monday, following a steep rebound in the previous session, as investors grew more hopeful that the peak in coronavirus cases could be reached soon. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 105 points, pointing to a gain of about 35 points at the Tuesday open. S&P 500 futures also pointed to a slight rise at the Tuesday open.

3. Market At Close On Friday: Indian shares ended 2 percent lower on Friday, following Asian peers, as coronavirus cases showed no signs of abating. Global coronavirus cases surpassed 1 million on Thursday with more than 52,000 deaths. The BSE Sensex ended 674 points at 27,590, while the Nifty fell 170 points at 8,084.

4. Crude Oil: Prices fell on Monday amid ongoing uncertainty around the prospect of production cuts. The move lower came even as the CEO of Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF told CNBC that Moscow and Riyadh were “very close” to an oil deal, and as Russia reportedly said it was ready to reduce output, according to Reuters. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 7.97 percent to settle at $26.08 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude futures dipped 3.1 percent to settle at $33.05 per barrel.

5. Rupee Close: The rupee settled 53 paise lower at 76.13 against the US dollar on Friday amid a significant rise in coronavirus cases in the country and weak domestic equities.

Forex traders said heavy selling in domestic equities dragged the local unit amid mounting fears of a coronavirus-led economic slowdown.

6. Government Reassures State Banks Of Capital Infusion: India has assured state banks it is ready to provide capital support as the coronavirus pandemic may lead to a surge in bad loans when economic growth is slowing, three government and banking sources told Reuters. New Delhi may need to make a provision of at least Rs 200-250 billion ($5.90 billion) for capital infusion in state-run banks. However, this number can increase significantly as the situation evolves, the officials said.

7. SBI Pegs FY21 Growth At 2.6%: SBI house economists have pegged the growth forecast for January-March at 2.5 percent and for 2020-21 at 2.6 percent given the massive disruptions to businesses and the economy due to the COVID-19-driven lockdowns. The 21-day lockdown will cost the economy at least Rs 8 lakh crore, according to a report by SBI Research, which says at least 70 per cent of the economy is on a standstill because of this.

8. Second Quarter GDP Could Decline By 30%: Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the economy is in the throes of an “absolutely shocking” downturn that is not reflected yet in the current data. If it was, she said, the unemployment rate probably would be as high as 13 percent while the overall economic contraction is about 30 percent. “This is a huge, unprecedented, devastating hit, and my hope is that we will get back to business as quickly as possible,” she added.

9. Economic Recovery To Take At Least 2-3 Quarters: The situation during the ongoing COVID-19 will be grim and the recovery thereafter will also take time as private equity experts fear that more people will die from hunger than pandemic in India most people under estimating the gravity and period of impact, which at the very least will take two to three quarters. He added that most people are under-estimating gravity and the period of impact, which will be the at the very least two to three quarters.

10. 1 Lakh EPF Withdrawal In Less Than 10 Days: About 1 lakh people have already applied to withdraw funds from their accounts, in less than 10 days. Sources close to the development told CNBC-TV18, "About 1 lakh people have applied with Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) to withdraws funds under the relaxations given in Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana." For this, retirement fund body -- EPFO has already disbursed Rs 125 crore (approx) to applicants, sources added.