10 things you need to know before the opening bell on February 9

SUMMARY

The Indian market is likely to open higher on Tuesday following a rally in major global indices. At 7:00 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 24.50 points or 0.16 percent higher at 15,166.50, indicating a positive start for the Sensex and Nifty50.

By CNBCTV18.comFeb 9, 2021 8:10:30 AM IST (Updated)

1. Wall Street:Wall Street's main indexes scaled all-time highs on Monday, as investors bet on hopes that a fiscal relief package and vaccine roll-outs would lead to a speedy economic recovery. At 11:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.66 points, or 0.40 percent, to 31,271.90, the S&P 500 gained 12.22 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,899.05 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 59.10 points, or 0.43 percent, to 13,915.40.

2. Asian stocks: Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher in Tuesday trade following overnight gains on Wall Street that saw the major indexes rallying to record closing highs. Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher in early trade, with Japan's Nikkei following their lead. Nikkei rose 0.32 percent while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.88 percent. However, shares in Australia lagged with S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.43 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares traded 0.26% higher.

3. Dalal Street:The Indian equity market ended at a record high level on Monday led by strong gains in auto and metal stocks amid positive global cues. The Sensex ended 617.14 points, or 1.22 percent, higher at 51,348.77, while the Nifty gained 191.55 points, or 1.28 percent to close at 15,115.80. Broader markets, Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 supported the rally by gaining more than 1.5 percent each.

4. Oil:Oil prices rose on Monday to their highest in just over a year, with Brent nudging past $60 a barrel, boosted by supply cuts among key producers and hopes for further US economic stimulus measures that can boost demand. Brent rose 96 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $60.30 a barrel by 11:37 am EST (1637 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained $1.00, or 1.8 percent, to $57.85 a barrel.

5. Rupee: The rupee dropped by 4 paise to close at 72.97 against the US currency on Monday due to a strong dollar sentiment and dollar buying by importers. However, sustained foreign fund inflows and strong gains in equity markets restricted the rupee's fall, traders said. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex), the rupee opened sharply higher at 72.86 against the dollar. During the session, the unit touched a high of 72.80. However, the rupee pared gains to close lower by 4 paise at 72.97 due to dollar buying by importers.

6. Gold:Gold prices on Monday gained Rs 94 to Rs 46,877 per 10 gram, supported by recovery in international prices, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 46,783 per 10 gram. Silver also jumped Rs 340 to Rs 68,391 per kg, from Rs 68,051 per kg in the previous trade. In the international market, both gold and silver were trading with gains at USD 1,815 per ounce and at USD 27.16 per ounce.

7. Bitcoin: Bitcoin’s price jumped to an all-time high on Monday after Tesla said it has invested around $1.5 billion in the digital coin. The news sent Bitcoin soaring as high as $47,000.

8. IT companies: India’s top IT companies have resumed hiring, even offering salary hikes and bonuses to staff as the pandemic accelerated digital transformation leading to strong Q3 earnings.

9. Foreign Portfolio Investment: FPIs’ ownership in NSE-listed companies reached a five-year high of 22.74 percent in December 2020 on the back of a huge net inflow of Rs 1.42 lakh crore by such investors in the third quarter. In comparison, the holding of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) was at 21.51 percent in the quarter ending September 2020, according to primeinfobase.com, an initiative of Prime Database Group.

10. US-India partnership: US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a phone call on Monday agreed to work together on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism, the White House has said.