10 things you need to know before the opening bell on July 10

SUMMARY

Indian shares are set for a flat start on Wednesday amid muted trades in global markets and post-Budget selling pressure. Asian shares traded little changed following losses in US markets as investors await Fed chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress for further cues on Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. At 7.18 AM, the SGX Nifty futures traded 0.10 percent up, pointing to a tepid start for the Sensex and the Nifty 50.

By CNBC-TV18Jul 10, 2019 7:35:08 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asia: Asian shares inched ahead on Wednesday while higher Treasury yields lifted the dollar as markets wondered if the world’s most powerful central banker would confirm or confound expectations for US policy easing this month. South Korea climbed 0.6 percent, but Japan's Nikkei lagged with a loss of 0.15 percent. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 added a slim 0.08 percent.

2. US: The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Tuesday as gains in tech-related shares offset worries about a weakening outlook for earnings. Investors braced for remarks this week from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell during his two-day testimony before Congress, which starts on Wednesday. Also due on Wednesday is the central bank's June policy meeting minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.65 points, or 0.08 percent, to 26,783.49, the S&P 500 gained 3.68 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,979.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 43.35 points, or 0.54 percent, to 8,141.73.

3. Markets At Close On Monday: Indian benchmark indices pared morning losses to end flat on Tuesday, on the back of a recovery in large-cap stocks like Reliance Industries Ltd, Bajaj Finance, L&T and ICICI Bank. Meanwhile, investors awaited fresh cues from corporate results. The Sensex ended 10 points higher at 38,731, while the broader Nifty50 index lost 3 points to end at 11,556. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 674 crore on a net basis in the cash market, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 711 crore.

4. Crude Oil: Oil prices gained more than 1 percent in early trade on Wednesday, led by US crude after an industry group reported that US stockpiles fell for a fourth week in a row, alleviating concerns about oversupply. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 90 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $58.73 by 0027 GMT. Brent was up 69 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $64.85.

5. US President On Indian Tariffs: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on India for imposing tariffs on American products and said it was "no longer acceptable", days after he held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and agreed to sort out the trade-related issues. "India has long had a field day putting Tariffs on American products. No longer acceptable!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

6. CRISIL On Earnings: India Inc will see the slowest quarterly revenue growth in two years, which will more than halve to 6 percent from 14-15 percent, due to a deceleration

in consumption and lower realisations, says a report. Not just the topline, but corporate India is also staring at a sharp fall in profitability, with operating profit growth expected to come in at a low 3 percent as against an average of 13 percent in the past four quarters,

Crisil said in its earnings preview. (stock image)

7. Moody's On India's Fiscal Deficit: Weak growth prospects for India will complicate the government's fiscal consolidation efforts, weighing on the sovereign's credit quality, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. The 2019-20 Budget presented in Parliament last week projected to contain fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of GDP, lower than 3.4 percent estimated in the interim Budget. It also projected a more gradual decline in government debt. "Weak growth prospects for India (Baa2 stable) will complicate the government's fiscal consolidation efforts, weighing on the sovereign's credit quality," Moody's said in a statement.

8. National Pension System: The NPS Trust will rope-in business consultants to conduct a performance review of pension funds as well as portfolio analysis of schemes under the National Pension System. The NPS Trust was established by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) for taking care of assets and funds under the NPS in the interest of the subscribers. In a request for proposal, the NPS Trust said it wants to appoint Business Review Consultant (BRC) to review the existing format for performance review of the pensions funds (PFs), review the performance of the PFs at prescribed intervals and to undertake their portfolio analysis.

9. RBI: The Reserve Bank's regulations on large exposures of banks are "compliant" on average with the framework set by the global central bankers body at Basel and

some are even stricter than the global norms, says a report by the Bank of International Settlements. The regulatory consistency assessment programme (RCEP) of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has found that domestic banking regulations are "compliant" as of June 2019, which is the highest possible grade, says the report.

10. Drug Imports From China: China accounted for 67.56 percent of total imports of bulk drugs and drug intermediates in 2018-19 at USD 2,405.42 million, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday. The import of bulk drugs and drug intermediates from China stood at USD 2,055.94 million in 2017-18, accounting for 68.68 percent of their total import, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda said in a reply to the Lok Sabha. Citing data from DGCIS Kolkata, he said the share of China in the total bulk drug imported to the country during 2018-19 was around 67 percent. (stock image)