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

SUMMARY

Indian shares are likely to open negative on Thursday following global markets which tumbled over no signs of progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing. At 7:04 AM, SGX Nifty was trading at 11,281.50, down 0.50 percent, indicating a weak start for the Sensex and the Nifty. (Inputs from agencies)

By CNBC-TV18Oct 10, 2019 8:22:37 AM IST (Updated)

Global markets: Global stocks tumbled on no signs of progress in trade talks between the US and China and the safe-haven yen and Swiss franc gained in early Asian trade on Thursday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.31 percent while Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.11 percent. In the currency market, the yen advanced up to 0.4 percent to 107.035 to the dollar and last stood at 107.33. The Swiss franc also gained as much as 0.4 percent to 0.9923 franc per dollar.

Oil: Oil futures were mixed on Wednesday as a Turkey-launched offensive in Syria and hopes of progress in ending the US-China trade war supported oil, but a build in US crude inventories held prices back. Brent crude settled at $58.32 a barrel, up 8 cents, while US West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $52.59 a barrel, down 4 cents.

Market at close: Indian shares snapped six-day losing streak to end 1.7 percent higher on Wednesday led by gains in financials as investors were optimistic ahead of September-quarter corporate results. The Sensex ended 646 points higher at 38,178, while the broader Nifty50 index added 187 points to end the day at 11,313.

RBI rejects proposed Indiabulls-LVB merger: Chennai-based private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) on Wednesday said that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has denied approval for amalgamation of Indiabulls Housing Finance (IHF) and Indiabulls Commercial Credit Limited.

World Economic Forum on investments in India: Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday said that India needs to invest in its foundations to attract more foreign investors.

Rupee: The rupee pared most of its initial losses and settled marginally down by 5 paise as China offering to buy additional US goods to ease trade tensions bolstered hopes of a partial deal between the two major economies. The local unit settled at 71.07, down 5 paise over its previous close.

US Fed on recession risk: American central bankers have grown more fearful, saying a global slowdown and President Donald Trump's trade wars could drag down hiring and the broader economy with it, meeting minutes showed Wednesday.

FM to meet PSBs: With Overall financial flows to the commercial sector declining sharply by 88 per cent during the first six months of the current financial year amid the slowdown in the economy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for a meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) next week to consult on ways to boost credit offtake, officials said on Wednesday.

CLSA on jobs: A workforce analysis of listed companies reveals that the job loss in the public sector was one of the "worst in recent times", a report said. In contrast to an increase of 9.2 percent headcount in the private sector, the public sector saw a decline of 2.6 percent in FY19.

Global Competitiveness Index: India fell 10 positions, to the 68th rank, in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index. The concept of Global Competitiveness Index 4.0. 2019 is anchored in growth accounting theory, which measures the sum of growth in the factors of production -- labour and capital -- and of total factor productivity (TFP).