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

SUMMARY

Indian benchmark indices the BSE Sensex and NSE’s Nifty 50 are set for a mixed start on Friday amid continued selling pressure over slowing economic growth and cautious trades in global markets. At 7.10 AM, the SGX Nifty futures traded 4 points, or 0.04 percent, lower at 10,715, indicating a flat start for the Sensex and the Nifty 50.

By CNBC-TV18Aug 23, 2019 7:27:00 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asian shares struggled to make any headway on Friday as weak US manufacturing activity and uncertainty over how much further the Federal Reserve would cut rates added to the general air of caution in markets buffeted by global growth fears, reported Reuters. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged 0.1 percent lower. Japan's benchmark Nikkei added 0.2 percent and Australian stocks eased 0.1 percent, while South Korean shares shed 0.3 percent.

2. US: The benchmark S&P 500 ended little changed on Thursday as a fall in US jobless claims offset data showing a contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday for clues on the central bank's monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.51 points, or 0.19 percent, to 26,252.24, the S&P 500 lost 1.48 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,922.95 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 28.82 points, or 0.36 percent, to 7,991.39.

3. Markets At Close On Thursday: Indian shares ended over 1.5 percent lower on Thursday, dragged by banking and realty indices, as investors awaited news on fiscal stimulus and US Federal Reserve chairman’s speech later this week. The Sensex ended 587 points down at 36,473, while the broader Nifty50 index lost 177 points to end the day at 10,741. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors sold Rs 902.99 crore in the cash market while domestic institutional investors bought Rs 1,719.07 crore.

4. Currency: The Indian rupee on Thursday plunged to an over eight-month low of 71.81, dropping 26 paise against the US dollar as tumbling equities and incessant foreign fund outflows weighed on sentiment.

5. Crude Oil: Oil prices eased in the morning amid ongoing worries about the health of the global economy and lingering recession fears. US crude traded up 0.31 percent at $55.51 a barrel after declining 0.6 percent in the previous session.

6. BoFAML On Economy: The financial conditions have deteriorated so badly despite the four repo rate cuts and there is a need for a fiscal stimulus, which though may not yield much results due to the fiscal constraints, warns an American brokerage report. The warnings come amid the gloomy news on the growth front, with GDP expansion sliding to a 5-year-low of 5.8 percent in March and expected to fall further in June quarter.

7. Nitin Gadkari On E-commerce Project: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government's plan to launch Bharatcraft portal, an e-commerce marketing platform, has the potential to achieve revenues of around Rs 10 lakh crore in the 2-3 years. "The Bharatcraft portal, which will be on the lines of Alibaba and Amazon, will provide a platform for MSMEs to market and sell their products and in turn boost the sector," Gadkari said. (Getty Image)

8. Commerce Ministry Comes Out With New Trade Policy: The commerce ministry will soon come out with a new foreign trade policy, which provides guideline and incentives for increasing exports, for the next five financial years 2020-25, an official said. The ministry is giving final touches to the new policy as the validity for the old one will end on March 31, 2020. "We have taken views of all stakeholders. The new policy is likely to be announced by September-end or early-October," the official said.

9. Gold Continues Bull Run: Continuing the record-setting trend, gold price on Thursday hit a new high of Rs 38,970 per 10 gram by gaining Rs 150 in the national capital, according to the All India Sarafa Association, mainly on account of a weaker rupee and safe-haven buying from investors due to weak equity market. Gold prices have been hitting a fresh high everyday since Tuesday. Besides, weakness in rupee and equity market also aided the rally in the yellow metal, traders said.

10 US-China Trade Talks Continue: The Trump administration is still planning for a round of in-person talks between US and Chinese officials in September after a constructive exchange this week between deputy-level negotiators, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday. "The deputies' call [with Chinese officials] was quite constructive and this may lead to a meeting of the principals here in Washington, D.C.," Kudlow said, referring to a teleconference involving deputy-level officials on Wednesday.