PremiumIndian indices may witness a flat opening on Friday. Asian markets witnessed a mixed start amid a a rally in US shares, and positive Covid-19 vaccine developments even as the delta virus strain spread in the region.
After remaining steady for two days, fuel prices were hiked yet again on Friday and cost over ₹100 in eight state capitals now.
In the first increase of July, petrol got costlier by 35 paise in the national capital, while diesel prices were unchanged, according to price notification by the oil retailers. (Read here)
Oil prices held steady on Friday after OPEC+ ministers delayed a meeting on output policy as the United Arab Emirates balked at a plan to add back 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second half of the year. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 5 cents at $75.28 a barrel at 0155 GMT, having jumped 2.4% on Thursday to close at their highest since October 2018. Brent crude futures inched up 4 cents to $75.88 a barrel, after rising 1.6% on Thursday.
The International Monetary Fund raised its 2021 US growth projection sharply to 7.0% due to a strong recovery from the covid-19 pandemic and an assumption that much of President Joe Biden's infrastructure and social spending plans will be enacted. The IMF's latest forecast, marking the fastest US growth pace since 1984, compares with an April projection of 4.6% growth in 2021. The Fund raised its 2022 US GDP growth forecast to 4.9%, up from its previous 3.5% April forecast. (Reuters)
Markets are likely to be remain range-bound on Friday while trends in SGX Nifty suggest a flat opening of Indian benchmark indices. On Thursday, the BSE Sensex ended at 52,318.60, down 164.11 points or 0.31% and thee Nifty ended at 15,680, down 41.50 points or 0.26%.
Alembic Pharma, banking stocks, Cadila, IndiGo, Srei group, among other stocks may be in focus today. (Read here)
The Federal Reserve probably will need to begin raising interest rates in late 2022 or early 2023 as increased government spending keeps inflation above its long-run average target, according to the International Monetary Fund. The US central bank likely will begin to scale back asset purchases in the first half of 2022, staff from the Washington-based fund said in a statement Thursday following the conclusion of so-called article IV consultations, the IMF’s assessment of countries’ economic and financial developments following meetings with lawmakers and public officials.
President Joe Biden welcomed the agreement among 130 countries on a new global minimum tax reached in the OECD on Thursday, something Washington had been pushing hard to achieve. Biden said the accord, setting a tax floor of at least 15 percent, would make the global economy more equitable for workers, which he has made a key focus of his administration. "With a global minimum tax in place, multinational corporations will no longer be able to pit countries against one another in a bid to push tax rates down and protect their profits at the expense of public revenue," Biden said in a statement.
Asian stocks were mixed Friday as traders weighed a rally in US shares to a record and positive Covid-19 vaccine developments against the regional spread of the delta virus strain. An OPEC+ dispute bolstered oil. Shares rose in Japan but slid in China and Hong Kong. S&P 500 contracts were stable after the index posted its longest winning streak since February, helped by cyclical sectors like energy, while technology lagged. Data signaled solid U.S. manufacturing growth and an ongoing labor market recovery. Johnson & Johnson said its inoculation neutralizes the fast-spreading delta virus strain.
S&P 500 futures were flat as of 10:50 a.m. in Tokyo. The index rose 0.5%
Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.1%. The index was little changed
Japan’s Topix index added 0.8%
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3%
South Korea’s Kospi index increased 0.2%
China’s Shanghai Composite index shed 1.2%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1%
SGX Nifty slipped 0.03%
The S&P 500 ended at a record for the sixth straight session Thursday as US stocks continued to rally as the reopening accelerates and economic data generally improves. All three major indices finished higher to open the second half of 2021 following reports showing a drop in jobless claims and continued expansion of the manufacturing sector, albeit at a slower pace. As the markets were closing, the International Monetary Fund upgraded its estimate for US growth in 2021 to seven percent, saying the world's biggest economy had enjoyed a "remarkable recovery." The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% to 34,633.53. The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 0.5% to 4,319.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced added 0.1% at 14,522.38. New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to 364,000, the lowest since 14 March 2020 when the pandemic lockdowns began.
The report comes ahead of Friday's government jobs report for June. Analysts expect the United States added 725,000 jobs and that unemployment fell to 5.7% from 5.8%.
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