 "10 things you need to know before the opening bell")
Global cues:
Asian stocks inched cautiously higher on Monday encouraged by record highs on Wall Street, though anxiety over a credit squeeze in China has weighed on shares there while adding to pressure on emerging market currencies. There was some relief when China’s benchmark short-term money rate opened sharply lower at 5.57 percent, which was enough to help Shanghai edge up 0.15 percent.
With the U.S. Federal Reserve finally announcing it will start tapering its stimulus, it removed a big uncertainty in the market last week and raised the question: Can Wall Street expect a stronger finish to the year? Not really.The “Santa Claus rally” is a seasonal anomaly that describes a rise in stock prices in December, generally over the final week of trading before the new year.The benchmark S&P 500’s average gain during the last five days of December and the first two of January has been about 1.5 percent since 1950, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. The equities market has gone up in December about 80 percent of the time for the past 20 years.
[caption id=“attachment_1268411” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]
The US economy grew at its fastest rate in nearly two years with third quarter GDP expanding 4.1% from a year ago. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2%.
Business/Stock news:
Infosys Ltdshareswill be under pressureafterV. Balakrishnan, head of its business process outsourcing unit and also a favourite to become the first non-founder chief executive officer quit, clocking the eighth top-level exit since founderN. R. Narayana Murthycame back to take over the reigns of the company, raising concerns about the succession plan.
AirAsia Indiais likely to receive the scheduleoperator permit, which will allow it to operate air services in the country by next month.
Apollo Tyre Ltdshares will be in focus afterCooper Tire and Rubber Co.said it now views its lawsuit against its would-be buyer as a fight over damages.
The Coal Ministry has slapped show-cause notices on 14 firms, including Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) and Hindustan Zinc, for delay in the development of the coal mines allocated to them for captive use.
Beverages and snacks major PepsiCo India today said it will invest over Rs 1,200 crore to build a new beverage manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh.
Economy news:
Even as senior government officials reportedly pegged the sum total of projects delayed by former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan at Rs 10 lakh crore, Union Minister for Petroleum M Veerappa Moily who now holds additional charge of the Ministry of Environment and Forests said on Sunday that delays in granting environmental clearances to major infrastructure projects amounts to putting the “India growth story” on hold.
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