10 things you need to know before the opening bell on January 8

SUMMARY

Indian shares are set to open lower sharply on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions rose between the US and Middle East after Iran fired rockets at an Iraqi airbase that hosts US military forces. At 7:10 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 195 points or 1.61 percent lower at 11,926, indicating a negative start for the Sensex and Nifty50.

By CNBC-TV18Jan 8, 2020 7:27:10 AM IST (Published)

1. Asia: Asia Pacific markets tumbled Wednesday following reports that rockets were fired at an Iraqi air base that hosts American troops. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 2.45 percent while the Topix index fell 2.22 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index was down 1.42 percent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.82 percent. Iran has launched an attack on U.S.-led forces in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, adding Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S.-led coalition personnel.

2. US: Wall Street's major indexes declined on Tuesday as investor caution persisted amid a dispute between the United States and Iran, while energy shares fell as oil prices gave back some recent gains. After the bell, S&P 500 futures fell 1 percent following reports that rockets were fired at an airbase in Iraq hosting U.S. forces. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.7 points, or 0.42 percent, to 28,583.68, the S&P 500 lost 9.1 points, or 0.28 percent, to 3,237.18 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.88 points, or 0.03 percent, to 9,068.58.

3. Markets At Close On Tuesday: Indian markets settled on a positive note on Tuesday, as oil prices eased due to a lack of further escalation in Middle East tensions. The S&P BSE Sensex index ended 192.84 points or 0.47 percent higher at 40,869.47, while the broader NSE Nifty benchmark closed 67.25 points or 0.56 percent higher at 12,060.30. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors sold Rs 682 crore in the cash market while the domestic institutional investors bought Rs 311 crore.

4. Rupee Close: The Indian rupee on Tuesday reclaimed some lost ground, rising 11 paise to close at 71.82 against the US dollar as receding fears of a larger conflict in the Middle East helped crude oil prices ease. Besides, a rebound in the domestic equity markets also supported the rupee. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a positive note at 71.73 against the US currency. It finally closed at 71.82, showing a gain of 11 paise over its previous closing. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.12 percent to 96.78.

5. Crude Oil: Oil rose sharply, with U.S. crude rising nearly $3, on Wednesday after the U.S. said its forces in Iraq were attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles, raising the prospect of a regional conflagration that could cut oil supplies. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose nearly $3, or almost 5 percent, to $65.50 a barrel at around 0029 GMT. Brent crude was yet to trade after dropping nearly 1 percent on Tuesday.

6. GDP Estimate At 5%: The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday has estimated India's GDP growth during fiscal 2019-20 at 5 percent as compared to 6.8 percent in the year-ago period, according to the first advance estimates released by the Central Statistics Ministry. The decline has been mainly on account of deceleration in manufacturing sector growth, which is expected to come down to 2 percent in 2019-20 from 6.2 percent in the year-ago fiscal.

7. FM Nirmala Sitharaman On Taxation: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government is taking various steps to simplify the taxation system and eliminate harassment of honest taxpayers. Addressing an event organised by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the finance minister said the government is open to suggestions for the betterment of the GST filing system. Based on suggestions received from various stakeholders, the government is taking steps towards simplification of the taxation system, she added. In a bid to curb harassment of taxpayers, she said, a faceless e-assessment scheme was launched in October to eliminate interface between an assessing officer and a taxpayer.

8. Lower DTH/Cable Bills Soon: Trai's amendments to the new regulatory framework for cable and broadcasting services could potentially lower DTH/cable bills by up to 14 percent from the present levels, rating agency Icra said on Tuesday. Last week, the broadcast regulator amended the new regulatory framework for cable and broadcasting services under which cable TV users will be able to access more channels at a lower subscription price. These changes come into effect from March 1. The regulator capped at Rs 160 the amount consumers will have to pay monthly for all free to air channels and reduced the maximum Network Capacity Fee (NCF) to Rs 130 (excluding taxes) for 200 channels.

9. Secured Creditor Cannot Sell Assets Under IBC: A secured creditor cannot sell assets of a company undergoing liquidation process to any person barred from submitting an insolvency resolution plan, as per a new amendment made to the norms by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). Besides, a secured creditor will have to contribute its share towards insolvency resolution and liquidation process costs and workmen's dues within 90 days of the liquidation commencement date, an official release said on Tuesday. The release said the IBBI has notified changes to the liquidation process regulations with effect from January 6. The amendment also provides a process for a stakeholder to seek withdrawal from the corporate liquidation account.

10. Large Taxpayers To Gain: As many as 87.5 percent of the eligible taxpayers have taken advantage of Sabka Vishwas, a dispute resolution-cum-amnesty scheme, which has been extended till January 15. However, the large taxpayers who are almost 12.5 percent of the total eligible taxpayers with total tax amount of Rs 1.7 lakh crore under litigation have yet to make a declaration under this scheme. According to sources, the government is unlikely to further extend the scheme which went live on September 1, 2019. The sources said that till now, 161,214 taxpayers (87.5 percent) out of the total 1.84 lakh eligible taxpayers have already availed the scheme. These taxpayers have declared tax dues of around Rs 79,968 crore and after availing the various reliefs and amnesty as per the rules of the scheme, they would pay around Rs 35,094 crore, sources said.