10 things to know before the opening bell

Global cues:

Asian stocks got off to an uninspired start on Tuesday, with Japan’s share market losing a bit of ground, while gold took a breather after its biggest one-day gain in over a year. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS drifted up a modest 0.3 percent, with Australian shares .AXJO gaining 0.3 percent and South Korean stocks .KS11 0.6 percent higher.

Wall St edged higher despite McDonald’s disappointment. The S&P 500 notched a third consecutive record closing high on Monday and major indexes rose, though disappointing McDonald’s earnings kept the Dow from making significant gains. Banks and health shares were the day’s best performers, with financials advancing for the 10th time in the past 12 sessions.

The dollar was nursing broad losses in Asia on Tuesday as soft US housing data offered an excuse to sell, while a sharp fall in Portuguese bond yields provided a boost to the euro. Dealers said liquidity had dried up amid the northern summer and activity had been characterized by a general trimming in short positions of everything from the Australian dollar to the yen and gold.

Gold was trading near its highest in a month on Tuesday after gaining 3 percent the session before and breaking through key resistance at the $1,300 level. A weaker dollar supported bullion prices, but stricter Indian import rules and continued outflows from exchange-traded gold funds could cap gains.

Business/Stock news:

The service tax department has passed an order onTata Motorsfor service tax evasion. According to CNBC-TV18, the order has been passed, levying a tax demand of Rs 400 crore on the company.

Larsen & Toubro(L&T) disappointed the street on every parameter with thefirst quarter (April-June) net profit falling higher-than-expected 12.5 percentyear-on-year to Rs 756 crore.

Pharma MajorLupinLimited announced that its US subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) has received final approval for its Metformin Hydrochloride extended release tablets (HCl ER) 500 mg and 1000 mg from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).

Economy news:

Seeking to tighten gold imports in the face of a widening CAD, the Reserve Bank set stringent conditions for importers, linking inward shipments to future exports, a decision that will make it costlier. Under a notification issued by the RBI, banks and authorised agencies will have to ensure that at least 20 percent of imported gold is made available for exports.

India has already attracted Rs 247.74 billion worth of orders in its auction of debt investment quotas for foreign investors, higher than Rs 236.6 billion on offer, according to two dealers participating in the auction.