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

SUMMARY

The Indian market is likely to open lower on Wednesday following losses in global peers. At 7:05 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 53.00 points or 0.44 percent lower at 11,888.00, indicating a negative start for the Sensex and Nifty50.

By CNBCTV18.comOct 14, 2020 8:08:28 AM IST (Published)

1. Asia: Stocks in Asia-Pacific were lower in Wednesday morning trade, as investors await a speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mainland Chinese stocks were lower in early trade, with the Shanghai composite down about 0.4 percent while the Shenzhen component declined 0.261 percent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was fractionally lower.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.18 percent while the Topix index shed 0.53 percent. South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.64 percent. Meanwhile, shares in Australia were little changed, with the S&P/ASX 200 below the flatline. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.11 percent lower, reported CNBC International.

2. US: U.S. stock index futures rose in overnight trading after the major averages registered their first day of losses in five trading sessions. Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 44 points, indicating a 64-point gain at the open on Wednesday. S&P 500 futures gained 0.14 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.3 percent. Stocks fell on Tuesday, snapping a four-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 157.71 points, or 0.6 percent, while the S&P 500 declined 0.6 percent. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative outperformer, dipping 0.1 percent, reported CNBC International.

3. Market At Close On Tuesday: Indian indices pared gains to end on a flat note on Tuesday as losses in banks, financials and pharma sectors were capped by gains in IT stocks and heavyweight Reliance Industries. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, ITC and Axis Bank were the top contributors to the losses. The Sensex ended 32 points higher at 40,625 while the Nifty rose 3.5 points to 11,934.50. Broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices down 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

4. Crude Oil: Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday, supported by robust economic data from China that offset returning supply in other regions but gains were capped by forecasts for a slow recovery in global oil demand as coronavirus cases rise. Brent crude futures were up 72 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $42.44 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 77 cents, or 1.95 percent, higher at $40.20 per barrel. On Monday, both benchmarks fell nearly 3 percent, reported CNBC International.

5. Rupee Close: The Indian currency ended lower amidst volatility in the Asian peers. The rupee ended at 73.35 against the US dollar as compared to the previous close of 73.28.

6. Centre Okays Additional Borrowing For States: The central government has given its nod to 20 States to raise an additional amount of Rs 68,825 crore through open market borrowings, Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The additional borrowing of 0.5 percent of the GSDP has been given to states which have agreed for GST borrowing under the first option of Rs 1.10 lakh crore. These 20 States are - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Ministry also said that eight states have yet to exercise a borrowing option to meet the GST shortfall.

7. IMF Slashes India's Growth Forecast: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) handed India yet another sharp cut in its growth projection for the year amid a worse than expected contraction seen in the June quarter. In its latest World Economic Outlook update for October released on Tuesday evening, IMF has forecast a steep 10.3 percent contraction for India’s economy for the current financial year, 580 basis points lower than its June forecast. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. The report pegs India’s FY 2021-22 growth at 8.8 percent, which is 280 basis points higher than what it had forecast in June. Thereafter, the IMF sees India’s GDP growth at 7.2 percent by FY 2025-26.

8. Cabinet To Consider New PSE Policy: The Union Cabinet will soon consider new public sector enterprises policy that will define strategic sectors, which will not have more than four PSUs, Finance Ministry official sources said on Tuesday. As part of the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' package, the government in May had announced that there will be a maximum of four public sector companies in the strategic sectors, and state-owned firms in other segments will eventually be privatised. Under the policy, a list of strategic sectors will be notified where there will be at least one and a maximum of four public sector enterprises, apart from private sector companies. In other sectors, central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) will be privatised, depending on the feasibility.

9. Bharat Biotech Cuts Covaxin Trial Size: In an unprecedented move, vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has cut the size of Phase-2 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin by half. Instead of testing the vaccine candidate on 750 healthy volunteers, as per the earlier approved protocol, the company will now be dosing just 380 volunteers, sources told CNBC-TV18. The number of sites conducting the trials has also been reduced accordingly. While confirming the development, two lead trial investigators told CNBC-TV18 that the decision was based on good seroconversion or immunogenicity seen in volunteers in Phase 1.

10. Amusement Parks To Open From Oct 15: The amusement parks industry, which has been permitted to restart functioning from October 15, is apprehensive about footfalls, going by the experience of restaurants, an official said on Tuesday. The industry, which provides direct and indirect employment to around four lakh people across the country, has incurred a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore due to the lockdown, Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) president Ajay Sarin said. He said around one lakh people, related to the sector, have lost jobs due to the closure of entertainment parks. "Although the government has allowed the amusement parks to resume functioning from October 15, just before the start of festivities, we are apprehensive about the attendance," Sarin told PTI.