What changed for the market while you were sleeping? Top 10 things to know

After a black and blue beating on September 24, the Indian stock market is expected to open in the green as trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 70 points gain.

The market corrected for the sixth consecutive session on September 24 with the Nifty falling well below the psychological 11,000 mark amid uncertainty over economic recovery and rising COVID-19 infections.

The BSE Sensex plunged 1,114.82 points or 2.96 percent to close at 36,553.60, while the Nifty50 closed the expiry day for September derivative contracts at 10,805.50, down 326.40 points or 2.93 percent and formed a big bearish candle on the daily charts.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines across news platforms which could impact Indian as well as international markets:

US Markets

Wall Street rallied in a rocky session on Thursday as beaten-down technology shares gained favor after data showing a surge in the sale of new homes revived faith in the economic recovery even as U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 52.31 points, or 0.20%, to 26,815.44. The S&P 500 gained 9.67 points, or 0.30%, to 3,246.59, and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.28 points, or 0.37%, to 10,672.27.

Asian Markets

Asian stocks were set to open higher on Friday as a late Wall Street rally supported global sentiment although weak U.S. data and uncertainty about a stimulus package in Washington have kept a lid on confidence.

In early Asian trade, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.12% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.13%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures rose 0.45%. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.43%.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 70 points gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 10,915 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.

Oil steady as market eyes coronavirus hit to demand

Oil prices were little changed on Friday but on track for a weekly fall on concerns that a global resurgence of COVID-19 infections will constrain fuel demand, while the likely return of exports from Libya will add to supply.

Brent crude was down 2 cents at $41.92 a barrel by 0113 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was 3 cents firmer at $40.34.

Centre extends suspension of proceedings under IBC by 3 months

The government on September 24 extended the suspension on new bankruptcy filings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) by another three months, effective September 25. "In exercise of the powers conferred by section 10A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the Central Government has extended the suspension of sections 7,9, 10 of the IBC for a further period of three months," the government notification read.

"Extension of suspension of sections 7,9,10 of the IBC reinforces the Government's commitment to protecting businesses. It also gives companies breathing time to recover from financial stress," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted.

US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rise

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly increased last week, supporting views the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was running out of steam amid diminishing government funding.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 870,000 for the week ended Sept. 19, compared to 866,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 840,000 applications in the latest week.

Claims are above their 665,000 peak during the 2007-09 Great Recession, though applications have dropped from a record 6.867 million at the end of March. While the reopening of businesses in May boosted activity, demand in the services industries has remained lackluster, keeping layoffs elevated.

RBI rejects all bids at first open market bond buy this year

The Reserve Bank of India on September 24 rejected all the bids it received at its first outright open market purchase of bonds for this fiscal year, puzzling traders and investors. The RBI had planned to buy up to Rs 10,000 crore ($1.35 billion) worth of six-year to 11-year papers at an open market operation. But despite receiving bids worth Rs 66,473 crore in total, it did not accept any of them.

"The RBI seems unhappy with the bids offered. If the market is in stress as (traders) say they are due to the high supply, (the market) should be selling at reasonable levels," a senior trader at a private bank said. "It is possible that RBI, which is also buying in the secondary market, feels that they can get better results there".

India Ratings maintains negative outlook on NBFCs, HFCs for H2 FY21

India Ratings and Research on Thursday said it has maintained a negative outlook on non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) for the second half of 2020-21. It said growth in assets under management would be flattish for NBFCs as against its earlier estimate of 8-10 per cent y-o-y, and in lower single digits for HFCs in 2020-21.

"We have maintained a negative outlook on the non-banking finance company (NBFC, retail and wholesale) and housing finance company sectors for 2HFY21, amid COVID-19 related business disruptions," the rating agency said.

Indian banking system will be one of the slowest to recover: S&P

The Indian banking system will be one of the slowest to return to 2019 levels, and full recovery might stretch beyond 2023, according to a report by S&P Global Ratings. "For India, Mexico, and South Africa, a recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels may not arrive until after 2023," S&P said in its report on global banking.

Major banking systems, such as the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia, are also unlikely to recover until 2023.

Banks sanction loans worth Rs 1.77 lakh crore to 44 lakh MSMEs under credit guarantee plan

The Finance Ministry on September 24 said banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1.77 lakh crore to 44.2 lakh business units under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector reeling under the slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, disbursement against the sanctioned amount stood at Rs 1,25,425 crore to 25.74 lakh MSME units till September 21.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,885.69 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 188.64 crore in the Indian equity market on September 24, as per provisional data available on the NSE.