 "10 things you need to know before the opening bell")
Global cues:
Japanese shares rose sharply and the yen fell after a media report on Tuesday said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering a cut in corporate tax to counter the pain of a planned sales tax increase, while gold eased but held near three-week highs.
US stocks rose on Tuesday after strong economic data including retail sales, while Apple boosted the Nasdaq after billionaire investor Carl Icahn revealed a long position in the stock.Rising US retail sales in July, combined with a higher ZEW German sentiment index and euro zone industrial production, painted a rosier picture of the global economy. The data pushed US Treasury yields higher and homebuilder stocks fell in anticipation of higher mortgage rates.
[caption id=“attachment_1032255” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]
The dollar was broadly firmer in Asia on Wednesday after racking up a third session of gains as upbeat US retail data sent Treasury yields sharply higher and fuelled talk the Federal Reserve will start tapering next month.
Gold futures fell 1 percent on Tuesday, after India, the world’s largest gold consumer, raised import duty on gold to 10 percent as policymakers scrambled to narrow a persistent current account deficit.
Business/ Stock news:
Tata Steel has surprised thestreet by posting better-than-expected numbers during June quarter as its Indian operations put up a good show and even performance of its Europe subsidiary was not that bad as anticipated by analysts.
In a fresh twist to NSEL imbroglio, an investor forum today demanded change in the ownership of the bourse and said that the government should takeover all collaterals to restore investor confidence.The forum also said it will take legal action against crisis-hit National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) if a firm commitment is not given on fulfilling payment obligations, adequately supported by collaterals, by tomorrow.
The 50-day strike at Bajaj Auto’s Chakan plant has been called off on Tuesday and the work will resume from Wednesday.While the company claimed that the workers called off the stir “unconditionally”, Vishwa Kalyan Kamgar Sanghatana (VKKS) - the union of workers at the plant - said it decided to end ‘stoppage of work’ in view of the upcoming festive season and will continue to push for its demands.
Economy news:
Customs duty on gold,silverand platinum was today hiked to 10 per cent in third revision this year in a bid to curb the surging imports and burgeoning CAD, a decision that will also rake in an additional Rs 4,830 crore to the exchequer.
Global financial services firm Credit Suisse has lowered India’s growth forecast for this fiscal year to 6 percent from 6.5 percent, and for financial year 2014-15 to 7 percent from 7.5 percent earlier.
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