10 things you should know before opening bell

Global cues:

Asian shares rose while the dollar was flat against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, after a spate of comments from Federal Reserve officials offered investors no reason to believe a rollback of the U.S. stimulus program was imminent.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.3 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock averagerose 0.5 percent.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday in light trading volume as investors were reluctant to make big bets with S&P 500 index just below the all-time closing high.

Among individual stocks, U.S.-listed shares of BlackBerryended down 16.4 percent to $6.50 after hitting a 52-week low of $6.40. The smartphone maker said it was abandoning a plan to sell itself. With Monday’s drop, the stock is at levels unseen since October 2003.

Twitter, meanwhile, raised the upper end of the projected price range for its initial public offering later in the week, an encouraging sign for the social media company.

China needs to sustain economic growth of 7.2 percent to ensure a stable job market, Premier Li Keqiang said in remarks published on Tuesday, one of the few times a top official has stated the minimum level of growth needed for employment.

Business/Stock news:

Telecom stocks will be in focus today. The government is likely to initiate a move that may reduce the amount telecom firms have to pay.The government is reportedly planning to seek the telecom regulator’s views about redefining the adjusted gross revenue, on the basis of which the government earns revenue from telecom companies.

A consortium of Indian companies-ONGC Videsh,Indian Oil Corporation LtdandPetronet LNG Ltd-are in talks to acquire 9 percent stake in Russia’s Novatek LNG project.

Hyderabad based pharmaceutical major Granules India announced on Monday that it had acquired the unlisted Hyderabad-based Auctus Pharma, a manufacturer of bulk drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for Rs 120 crore. Granules India is a near-Rs 1,000 crore company, while Auctus Pharma has revenues of around Rs 100 crore.

Cooper Tire and Rubber Co.is heading to court to save the deal to sell itself toApollo Tyres Ltd. The three-day trial will be held in Delaware.

Economy news:

Hinting that the worst for the economy may be over, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said the country will have a bumper harvest and the troublesome CAD will come down to USD 60 billion on back of rising exports and declining gold imports.