10 things you need to know before the opening bell on March 23

SUMMARY

The Indian market is likely to open higher on Tuesday following gains in global peers as bond yields pulled back. At 7:40 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 38.50 points or 0.26 percent higher at 14753.50, indicating a positive start for the Sensex and Nifty50.

By CNBCTV18.comMar 23, 2021 7:46:23 AM IST (Published)

1. Wall Street: Gains in big technology companies led stocks broadly higher on Wall Street as traders welcomed some easing in long-term bond yields. The S&P 500 index rose 0.7 percent Monday while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 percent, to 32,371.20.

2. Asian stocks: Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged 0.53 percent higher while the Topix index gained 0.33 percent. South Korea’s Kospi slipped fractionally. Mainland Chinese stocks dipped as the Shanghai composite shed 0.21 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was little changed. Shares in Australia inched higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.26 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.15 percent higher.

3. Dalal Street: Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, recovered from the day's lows to end marginally lower on Monday as banks dragged. The Sensex fell 86.95 points, or 0.17 percent, to 49,771.29, while the Nifty closed at 14,736.40, down 7.60 points, or 0.05 percent.

4. Oil: Oil steadied on Monday as hopes for a pick-up in demand later this year helped arrest last week's broad sell-off, but prices stayed under pressure as new European coronavirus lockdowns made a quick recovery look less likely. Brent crude was up 0.1 percent to $64.59 a barrel by 1733 GMT, while US oil for delivery in April fell 0.4 percent, to $61.20 a barrel ahead of expiry.

5. Rupee: The Indian rupee continued its winning run for the third straight session on Monday, adding another 15 paise to close at 72.37 against the US dollar as some stability in crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund inflows kept investor sentiment upbeat. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 72.47 against the greenback and gained further to touch an intra-day high of 72.34. It finally ended at 72.37 against the American currency, registering a rise of 15 paise over its previous close.

6. Gold: Gold in the national capital tumbled by Rs 302 to Rs 44,269 per 10 grams on Monday, reflecting overnight decline in global gold prices and rupee appreciation, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, it had closed at Rs 44,571 per 10 grams. Silver also tanked Rs 1,533 to Rs 65,319 per kg, from Rs 66,852 in the previous trade.

7. Bitcoin: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Monday that the US public needs to understand the risks behind Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, even as the central bank itself is studying the potential costs and benefits of a digital dollar. Powell said the Fed prefers to call crypto coins crypto assets, because their volatility undermines their ability to store value, a basic function of a currency. Bitcoin has soared nearly ten-fold in value compared with a year ago, hovering around $57,000 on Monday.

8. SEBI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released guidelines for business continuity plan and disaster recovery of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). The guidelines come weeks after a technical glitch that led to a trading halt on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

9. Future Group: The division bench of the Delhi High Court has stayed last week’s order by the single judge bench of Justice Midha ordering attachment of Future Group founder Kishore Biyani’s assets, and which had warned Biyani and Future Group promoter directors of a jail term for disobeying the court’s orders.

10. RBI: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on March 22 a Standing External Advisory Committee (SEAC) to evaluate applications for Universal Banks and Small Finance Banks. RBI's Department of Regulation is expected to provide secretarial support to this committee.