10 things you need to know before the opening bell on January 14

SUMMARY

The Indian market fell flat on Wednesday, snapping three sessions of record close, mainly dragged by financial services and pharma. The market is likely to open slightly lower today, as the SGX Nifty, an early indicator of the opening for the Indian market, was trading 11.50 points lower at 14,602, at 7:34 am, hinting at a negative start for the Sensex and Nifty.

By CNBC-TV18Jan 14, 2021 8:49:06 AM IST (Published)

1. Wall Street | Wall Street's main indexes were advancing slightly after the choppy morning session on Wednesday as investors appeared to be waiting while Congress began impeachment hearings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.23 percent or 72.19 points to 31,140.88, the S&P 500 gained 18.68 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,819.87 and the Nasdaq Composite added 93.67 points, or 0.72 percent, to 13,166.11.

2. Asian Stocks | Stocks in APAC made early trading gains on Thursday after a mixed Wall Street session buoyed by the expectations of a US stimulus package even as political events in Washington culminated in the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Australian S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.21 percent in early trading, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures rose 0.23 percent.

3. Indian Market | Indian indices ended flat on Wednesday snapping three sessions of a record close. The market was dragged mainly by financial and pharma sectors with RIL, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, and Kotak Bank contributing most to the losses. The Sensex ended 25 points lower at 49,492 while the Nifty was up 1 point to settle at 14,565. Meanwhile, the broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the midcap index down 0.7 percent. Among sectors, banking, auto, FMCG and IT indices were in the green for the day.

4. Crude Oil | Oil prices eased for a second day on Thursday as mounting coronavirus cases globally raised demand concerns, although a drawdown in US crude stocks for a fifth straight week capped losses. Brent crude oil futures dipped 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $56.01 a barrel by 0124 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 1 cent to $52.90 a barrel.

5. Rupee | The Indian currency strengthened gains for the second day straight and closed 10 paise higher at 73.15 against the USD on Wednesday, tracking strong Asian currencies and sustained foreign fund inflows. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 73.16, and hit an intra-day high of 73.10 and a low of 73.23 and finally finished at 73.15.

6. Trump Impeachment | Donald Trump became the first president in the US history to be impeached twice. 10 of his fellow Republicans joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to charge him with inciting a seize at the Capitol. Following the deadly assault, the house voted 232-197, although it appeared unlikely the swift impeachment would lead to Trump's ouster before his four-year term ends and Democratic President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20.

7. Reserve Bank of India | Indian central bank formed a working group on lending-based online platforms and mobile apps on Wednesday. The panel's objective is to study digital lending by regulated entities and unregulated players. The group is advised to submit its report in three months.

8. Niti Aayog | Niti Aayog said it is too early to speak about the efficacy data as the regulators will have to examine it. Currently the agency is going for staggered procurement orders and as more vaccine candidates come up in 2-3 months, the availability will increase. Aayog also said the Prime Minister will be launching the CoWIN app as the vaccination starts on January 16.

9. FII and DII data | According to provisional data available on NSE, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought net shares worth Rs 1,879.06 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold net shares worth Rs 2,370.17 crore in the Indian equity market on Wednesday.

10. COVID Strains | Researchers at Ohio State University discovered two new strains of COVID-19, adding that the strains likely originated in the United States. One of the new strains has already become dominant in Columbus, Ohio since the last December. This strain includes three other gene mutations not previously seen together in the initial strain.