10 things you need to know before the opening bell on August 28

SUMMARY

Indian shares are likely to edge higher on Wednesday as investor sentiment remained confident on the hopes of further stimulus after the central bank approved a transfer of excess capital to the government. At 7:00 AM, the Nifty futures traded 0.17 percent higher at 11,128.50.

By CNBC-TV18Aug 28, 2019 7:36:17 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asia: Asian shares eked out meagre gains on Wednesday, as higher Wall Street futures provided some relief for investors after an overnight US selloff, though deeper worries about the global economy are likely to keep a lid on sentiment, reported Reuters. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.03 percent, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.04 percent and Australia's shares rose 0.07 percent.

2. US: Wall Street slipped on Tuesday, weighed down by financial stocks as a deepening of the Treasury yield curve inversion raised US recession worries and uncertainty over any progress in trade negotiations between the United States and China took a toll, reported Reuters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 124.66 points, or 0.48 percent, to 25,774.17, the S&P 500 lost 9.53 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,868.85, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 26.79 points, or 0.34 percent, to 7,826.95.

3. Markets At Close On Tuesday: Equity benchmark indices continued uptick after Monday's rally led by auto and banking stocks, as ebbing global trade war worries and expectations of further stimulus supported by a huge dividend from the central bank boosted investor sentiment. The 30-share benchmark Sensex settled 147 points higher, or 0.39 percent up, at 37,641. The broader 50-share NSE index also ended higher at 11,115, up 57 points, or 0.52 percent. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors sold Rs 924 crore in the cash market while domestic institutional investors bought Rs 1,163 crore.

4. Currency: A weakness in IT counters was seen on account of strengthening rupee, which surged 54 paise to 71.48 against the US dollar.

5. Crude Oil: Oil prices rose in volatile trade on Tuesday supported by expectations of a drawdown in US crude inventories, though gains were capped by worries about a recession and uncertainty over a China-US trade deal. Brent crude settled up 81 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $59.51 a barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate crude ended $1.29, or 2.4 percent, higher at $54.93 a barrel.

6. Nirmala Sitharaman On FDI: The Union cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday would take up proposals to relax foreign direct investment (FDI) in various sectors, including single brand retail and digital media, as announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget last month. Seeking to make India more FDI attractive globally, Sitharaman hinted that the government would examine the suggestions to open FDI in aviation, media and insurance sectors. (Getty Image)

7. Moody's On India's GDP Growth: The raft of measures announced by the government to boost the sagging economic growth will provide some support to investor and business sentiments, but domestic and external headwinds will continue to persist through the year, resulting in a 6.4 percent GDP growth, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday. "We expect the measures to provide some support to investor and business sentiment, and the acceleration of the capitalization of public sector banks to help improve the provision of credit and transmission of monetary policy easing," he said.

8. SEBI Chairman On MF Industry: In a tough message for returns-focussed mutual funds, regulator Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi on Tuesday said the industry has exposed its fault lines with several risky investments made for want of higher yields and it is high time for them to play as per the rule book and stop compromising on safety.

9. AMFI Eyes Rs 100 Lakh Crore AUM: The mutual fund industry is eyeing a four-fold rise in AUM to Rs 100 lakh crore from existing Rs 25 lakh crore and increase in investor base to 10 crore from current 2 crore over the next decade, according to AMFI-BCG vision document. (Stock Image)

10. Jalan Panel Review In Every 5 Years: The Bimal Jalan panel of the Reserve Bank has recommended that the revised economic capital framework, under which the RBI decided to transfer Rs 52,637 crore excess provisions to the government, be reviewed every five years. The panel's report, which was released by the central bank on Tuesday, also recommended that the RBI accounting year (July-June) may be brought in sync with the fiscal year (April to March) from the financial year 2020-21 as it could reduce the need for interim dividend being paid by the RBI. The Central Board of the RBI on Monday accepted all the recommendations of the committee headed by Jalan, a former central bank governor.