 "10 things you should know before the opening bell")
Global news:
Asian share markets struggled for inspiration on Wednesday, hampered by expectations of further reductions in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stimulus and ahead of central bank meetings in Japan and Thailand. Japan’s Nikkei was almost flat .N225, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was off 0.1 percent.
U.S. stocks mostly rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 snapping a two-session decline as the materials sector rallied, though the Dow fell on disappointing earnings by three of its components.The S&P materials index .SPLRCM rose 0.6 percent as one of the best performing major S&P indexes, led by a 6.6 percent gain in Dow Chemical to $45.93.
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Reuters[/caption]
The yen was on the back foot early on Wednesday with investors unwilling to take aggressive bets ahead of the outcome of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) policy meeting. The dollar bought 104.28 yen after hitting a one-week high of 104.75, while the euro fetched 141.40 yen off a six-week trough of 140.33.
US crude futures rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday, extending the previous session’s gains, after the West’s energy watchdog said global oil demand will rise more quickly this year as economic growth in industrialised countries accelerates.
Business/ Stock news:
Oil marketing companies, on reports that the government is likely to announce the increased limit of subsidised LPG cylinders this week itself.
Cairn India, on a report in The Economic Times that the company is under income tax scrutiny over sales of shares to parent company.
L&T and HDFC, as the companies announce their October-December earnings today.
Tilaknagar Industries, after a report in the Business Standard that Kishore Chhabria-owned Allied Blenders is in talks to buy the company.
Economy news:
The Reserve Bank should adopt the new consumer price index for anchoring the monetary policy, an expert panel set up by the central bank said. The committee also set the inflation target at 4 per cent with a band of plus or minus 2 per cent around it. It also suggested that monetary policy decision making should be vested in a monetary policy committee (MPC) that should be headed the Governor.
India is likely to clock an economic growth rate of 4.6 percent this financial year and the expansion may improve to 5.4 percent in 2014-15, the International Monetary Fund said. Additionally, the IMF expects the world economy to grow by more than previously expected this year.