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

SUMMARY

The Indian equity market is likely to open on a subdued note on Monday following a muted trend in the Asian peers. At 7:55 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 39 points or 0.24 percent lower at 16,479, indicating a mildly negative start for the broader index in India.

By CNBCTV18.comAug 16, 2021 8:11:06 AM IST (Published)

1. Wall Street: Stocks managed to eke out tiny gains after another day of wobbly trading, leaving the S&P 500 higher for the second week in a row. The benchmark index, S&P made its fourth straight gain, rising over 0.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq edged higher 0.1 percent higher each while small-company stocks fell and Treasury yields dropped. Nasdaq futures and S&P 500 futures were both down 0.1 percent in early Asian action.

2. Asian stocks:Asian share markets made a cautious start to the week on Monday ahead of a raft of Chinese data that could confirm a slowdown in the giant economy, as much of the world races to stem the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 with vaccinations. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat in early trade, having hit its lows for the year last month. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.2 percent, though economic growth pipped forecasts for the June quarter.

3. D-Street:The Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, closed at fresh record highs in the last session last week but experienced some profit booking in the last few minutes. Both the benchmarks closed a percent higher, with Sensex gaining 593 points to close at 55,437 and Nifty ending 165 points higher at 16,529.

4. Oil: Oil prices fell more than 1 percent Monday, dropping for a third session, as government-imposed restrictions on mobility to counter the spread of the Delta variant raised worries about a recovery in fuel demand. Brent crude was down 1.1 percent, at $69.79 a barrel and US oil fell 1.2 percent, to $67.63 a barrel, having risen slightly last week.

5. Gold: Gold on Friday jumped Rs 567 to Rs 46,363 per 10 gram amid a recovery in international precious metal prices and rupee depreciation. Silver also gained Rs 1,343 to Rs 61,860 per kilogram. In the international market, gold was trading with gains at USD 1,757 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.30 per ounce.

6. Rupee: The Indian rupee reversed its intra-day losses to close almost flat at 74.24 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking a strong rally in domestic equities. Besides, a weak American currency against its major rivals and lower crude prices also helped the rupee to recover. Meanwhile dollar index slipped 0.14 percent to 92.91.

7. Bitcoin: Bitcoin surged over 8 percent on the weekend to climb to $47,587.38 at 2200 GMT on Friday, adding $3,142.93 to its previous close. It was last trading a percent higher at $47,674. Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is up 71.6 percent from the year's low of $27,734 on Jan. 4.

8. Foreign portfolio investors: FPIs bought Indian equities worth Rs 2,085 crore in the first half of August owing to improvement in economic activity. As per depositories data, overseas investors pumped in a net Rs 2,085 crore between August 2 and 13.