10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Global cues:

The S&P 500 closed at a record high for the second straight day on Friday to cap its biggest weekly gain in three months as stronger-than-expected earnings from Google, Morgan Stanley and others overshadowed worry that earnings growth was faltering.

The dollar was mired near an 8-month low against a basket of currencies on Monday on growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will have to delay scaling back its stimulus following a 16-day government shutdown. The dollar index was little moved in Asian trade around 79.642 .DXY, but not far from a trough of 79.478 touched on Friday, its lowest level since February.

[caption id=“attachment_1178367” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]

Australian shares climbed to a five-year peak on Monday, taking cues from the US S&P 500’s .SPX record high as investors bet the Federal Reserve will not start winding back its cheap money policies until next year. The change in expectations followed a 16-day shutdown of the U.S. government that could cloud the economic outlook and make the Fed wary of scaling back its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program this year as many had expected. This kept the dollar on the defensive.

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Gold held near one-and-a-half-week highs above $1,300 an ounce on Monday, supported by expectations the Federal Reserve would hold off curbing its economic stimulus while the United States eyes a more lasting fix to its budget problems.

Business/Stock news:

JPMorgan Chase & Co has reached a tentative $4 billion deal with the US Federal Housing Finance Agency to settle claims that the bank misled government-sponsored mortgage agencies about the quality of mortgages it sold them during the housing boom, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Tatas’ proposed aviation venture with Singapore Airlines has got Corporate Affairs Ministry’s approval to use the name ‘Tata SIA Airlines Limited’, which plans to offer full-service passenger services on domestic and international routes.

Tata Teleservices has got a major shot in the arm. It is now official that only 122 telecom permits were cancelled by the SC in 2012 and not 141, as claimed by the GSM industry lobby group COAI and other industry associations. Reliance Communications would be an unintended beneficiary of Sibal’s acceptance of this position on cancelled licenses. Read more.

Economy news:

Current Account Deficit is likely to be lower than the projection of 3.8 percent of the GDP and India will be in a better position to neutralise the impact of the tapering of monetary stimulus by the US Fed, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said.

The Prime Minister’s Office has rejected any criminality in the controversial allocation of coal block to Hindalco, saying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had approved it on the basis of “merits” of the case placed before him.The PMO, while making it clear that Singh was the ‘competent authority’ who cleared the proposal mooted by the Coal Ministry in 2005, underlined that the allocation to a joint venture, including Hindalco, was not done at the cost of PSU Neyveli Lignite Corporation