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

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 43 point gain.

The BSE Sensex rose 14.61 points to 44,632.65 on December 3 while the Nifty50 rose 20.10 points to 13,133.90. According to pivot charts, the key support levels for the Nifty is placed at 13,089, followed by 13,044.1. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 13,197.7 and 13,261.5.

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

The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record high on Thursday, lifted by Tesla Inc, while the S&P 500 fell after a report indicated that Pfizer Inc had slashed the target for the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29% to end at 29,969.52 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.06% to 3,666.72. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.23% to 12,377.18.

Asian Markets

Investors in Asia geared up for modest stock gains on Friday as US legislators wrangled over a fiscal stimulus and negotiations over a Brexit trade deal continued.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.02%. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 rose 0.26%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures added 0.13% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were flat.

SGX Nifty

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the index in India with a 43 point gain. The Nifty futures were trading at 13,246 on the Singaporean Exchange around 07:30 hours IST.

Oil prices rise

Oil prices rose on Friday, heading for the fifth week of gains after major producers agreed to continue to restrain production to cope with coronavirus-hit demand but the compromise fell short of expectations.

Brent was up 19 cents, or 0.4%, at $48.89 a barrel by 0102 GMT after gaining around 1% on Thursday. West Texas Intermediate had risen 18 cents or 0.4% at $45.82 a barrel.

Indian economy is gradually recovering: IMF

India's economy, severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, is gradually recovering, the International Monetary Fund said on December 3.

India's economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 percent and held out hopes for further improvement on better consumer demand. "India has indeed been severely affected by the pandemic but is gradually recovering," IMF chief spokesperson Gerry Rice told reporters.

"To further support growth, we believe the Indian authorities should prioritize swift implementation of the existing support programs and may need to consider expanding their scope, as warranted," Rice said.

India's next budget to focus on boosting growth: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

India’s economy will return to growth in 2021-22 and higher spending in the budget due in February will lay the foundations for even stronger growth in the next four to five years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Reuters on December 3.

“I would think 2021-22 will be very big, good traction year for achieving a really good rate of growth that itself is going to be a launching pad for 4-5 years of growing at a good speed, provided we do enough on the budget and spend on infrastructure,” she said.

US weekly jobless claims fall; still at very high levels

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week but remained extraordinarily high amid widespread business restrictions to slow a rising tide of new COVID-19 infections and lack of additional fiscal stimulus.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totalled a seasonally adjusted 712,000 for the week ended November 28, compared with 787,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 775,000 applications in the latest week.

A government watchdog on Monday said the claims data was inaccurate as the Labor Department was using traditional estimates, which were not appropriate given the economic shock caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

OPEC+ agrees slight easing of oil cuts from January

OPEC and Russia on Thursday agreed to slightly ease their deep oil output cuts from January by 500,000 barrels per day but failed to find a compromise on a broader and longer term policy for the rest of next year.

The increase means the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, a group known as OPEC+, would move to cut production by 7.2 million bpd, or 7% of global demand from January, compared with current cuts of 7.7 million bpd.

US dollar slides to 2-1/2-year low on vaccine optimism

The dollar plunged on Thursday to its weakest level in more than 2-1/2 years, while the euro gained, as signs of progress toward U.S. fiscal stimulus and optimism about COVID-19 vaccines kept investors upbeat.

The dollar was pressured by U.S. data showing initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 75,000 to a seasonally adjusted 712,000 for the week ended November 28. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 775,000 applications.

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth Rs 3,637.42 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 1,439.74 crore in the Indian equity market on December 3, as per provisional data available on the NSE.