10 things you need to know before the opening bell on August 23

SUMMARY

The Indian equity benchmark indices are likely to open higher on Monday following gains in global peers. Here are the 10 key things to know before the opening bell today.

By CNBCTV18.comAug 23, 2021 8:39:55 AM IST (Published)

1. Wall Street | US stocks recovered ground on Friday despite concerns about economic growth amid rising COVID-19 cases, which continued to take their toll on oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.65 percent, or 225.96 points, at 35,120.08, while the S&P 500 gained 0.81 percent, or 35.87 points, to close at 4,441.67. The Nasdaq Composite ended 1.19 percent, or 172.87 points, higher at 14,714.66.

2. Asian markets | Asian share markets were trying to pick up the pieces on Monday following last week's thrashing as coronavirus concerns showed little sign of abating, while safe-haven flows benefited the dollar ahead of a key update on US monetary policy. A raft of "flash" manufacturing surveys for August out on Monday will offer an early indication of how global growth is faring in the face of the Delta variant, with analysts expecting some slippage and especially in Asia.

3. Indian market on Friday | The Indian equity indices ended sharply lower Friday dragged by heavy selling across the board amid weak global cues. The Sensex fell 300.17 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 55,329.32, while the Nifty closed 118.35 points, or 0.71 percent lower at 16,450.50. Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices also declined 2 percent each. Barring Nifty FMCG, all other sectoral indices closed were in the red with Nifty Metals falling over 6 percent followed by PSU banks, pharma, realty and media indices.

4. Crude oil | Oil prices reversed out of a seven-day losing stretch on Monday as investors punted on crude at bargain levels, though lingering fears over how a surge in global COVID-19 cases might affect fuel demand combined with a firmer US dollar to limit gains. Brent crude futures climbed 60 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $65.78 a barrel, after hitting the lowest level since May 21 of $64.60 earlier in the session. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for October rose 53 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $62.67 a barrel, recovering from $61.74, the lowest since May 21, touched in Asia’s early trade.

5. Rupee | The rupee on Friday declined by 15 paise to close at 74.39 against the US currency, tracking a lacklustre trend in the domestic equities and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market. Forex outflows also impacted the local unit. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened lower at 74.38 against the American currency and finally settled at 74.39. During the session, the local unit touched an intra-day high of 74.38 and a low of 74.47 against the US currency.

6. Dollar near 9-month highs on COVID-19 worries |The safe-haven dollar traded near its highest in more than nine months against major peers on Monday, while commodity currencies like the Aussie languished amid worries that the Delta coronavirus variant could derail the global economic recovery. The dollar index, which measures the currency against six peers, was little changed at 93.468 from Friday, when it climbed as high as 93.734 for the first time since Nov. 4.

7. RBI Governor pitches for continued policy support to revive growth, monitoring inflation |Given the uncertainties on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das opined that continued policy support with a focus on revival and sustenance of growth was the most desirable and judicious policy option at the moment.Das, according to the minutes of the MPC meeting released on Friday, also underlined the need for closely monitoring the price situation with a view to anchoring inflation expectations.

8. Investment via P-notes continues to climb; hits 40-month high in July |Investments in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) rose to Rs 1.02 lakh crore till July-end, making it the highest level in last 40 months. This also marks the fourth consecutive monthly growth. According to SEBI data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets -- equity, debt and hybrid securities -- rose to Rs 1,01,798 crore at July-end from Rs 92,261 crore as of June 30, 2021.

9. IBA moves RBI seeking licence to set up Rs 6,000-crore NARCL | The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has moved an application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking licence to set up a Rs 6,000-crore National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) or bad bank, according to sources. The company after mobilising an initial capital of Rs 100 crore and fulfilling other legal formalities has approached the RBI seeking licence to undertake asset reconstruction business.

10. India's forex reserves decline $2.10 billion to $619.365 billion | India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by $2.099 billion to stand at $619.365 billion for the week ended August 13 due to a fall in core currency assets and gold, RBI data showed on Friday. The forex kitty had increased by $889 million to a lifetime high of $621.464 billion in the previous reporting week