 "10 things you need to know before the opening bell")
Global cues:
The S&P 500 finished nearly flat on Wednesday as equity indexes had a muted reaction to the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting, while Micron’s strong results helped buoy the Nasdaq. Minutes of the Fed’s December 17-18 meeting, after which the US central bank announced its decision to begin trimming its monthly bond purchases, showed Fed officials were careful to tread lightly as they embarked on the tapering process.
Asian shares wavered on Thursday after a lackluster performance on Wall Street overnight and ahead of a key U.S. jobs report due out the following day, while the dollar stood near a seven-week high against a basket of currencies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slipped 0.2 percent after snapping a five-day losing streak on Wednesday.
[caption id=“attachment_1272629” align=“alignright” width=“380”]
Reuters[/caption]
The dollar hovered at seven-week highs against a basket of major currencies early on Thursday, having risen for a second session after an upbeat private-sector jobs report drove U.S. short-term yields and market rates higher. The dollar index .DXY rose as far as 81.166, a high not seen since late November, after a report showed private employers added a bigger-than-expected 238,000 jobs in December, the strongest increase in 13 months.
Japan’s Nikkei share average fell on Thursday morning after rising sharply on the previous day, as investors stayed risk averse before the release of U.S. nonfarm payroll data on Friday.
Business/Stock news:
A day ahead of a ministerial panel meeting to decide on disinvestment in Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Petroleum Ministry has opposed stake sale in the nation’s largest oil firm at current subdued prices.
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd shares will be in focus following a Economic Times report that it has priced its anti-diabetic drug Zitamed and Zita 30% cheaper than competitors to shake up the market dominated by multinationals in the country.
Ushering in a new regime for overseas investors as FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors), Sebi today issued operating guidelines for depository participants to register these new entities and to ensure that their combined holding in any listed company remains capped at 10 percent.
Economy news:
In significant recommendations, the high-level Vijay Kelkar Committee has favoured the current production sharing regime for high-risk deep sea oil and gas exploration over the revenue-sharing model that is being considered for the next round of auction. The Kelkar Committee submitted the first of its two-part report on a road map to enhance domestic oil and gas output to Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily this week.
People seeking loan against gold jewellery can now borrow more, as the Reserve Bank today allowed NBFCs to lend up to 75 per cent of the value of metal from 60 per cent at present.