The Indian market is likely to open higher on Wednesday following gains in global peers. The Asian markets traded mostly higher after Wall Street hit record highs as the US Senate passed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. At 7:50 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 46.35 points or 0.28 percent higher at 16,316.80, indicating a positive start for the broader index in India.
1. Wall Street: Stocks ended another jagged day mostly higher on Wall Street Tuesday as gains in banks and elsewhere in the market outweigh a slide in technology companies. The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1 and 0.5 percent respectively, whereas the Nasdaq slipped 0.5 percent.
2. Asian stocks: Stocks in Asia-Pacific rose in early trade on Wednesday, as Wall Street sailed to record highs on the back of a $1 trillion infrastructure plan passed by the US Senate. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.68 percent, while the Topix jumped 0.8 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was just above the flatline. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia was up 0.45 percent.
3. Dalal Street: Indian benchmark indices soared to all-time highs before giving up more than half of those gains in a volatile session on Tuesday, amid weakness in global markets. The S&P BSE Sensex index ended 151.81 points or 0.28 percent higher at 54,554.66 — a record closing high, and the broader NSE Nifty50 benchmark added 21.85 points (0.13 percent) to settle at 16,280.10, 14.5 points shy of a record closing high registered last week.
4. Crude oil: Oil prices rose over 2 percent Tuesday, rebounding from recent losses on signs of rising fuel demand in the United States despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. Brent crude rose 2.3 percent to settle at $70.63 a barrel. And the US oil climbed 2.7 percent to end the session at $68.29 a barrel. Both contracts dropped around 2.5 percent Monday, and last week notched their biggest losses in months as infections surged in major global oil consumers.
5. Gold: Gold Tuesday rose slightly to Rs 45,886 per 10 gram. Silver tumbled Rs 12 to Rs 62,637 per kilogram. In the international market, gold was trading with gains at USD 1,735 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.56 per ounce.
6. Rupee: The Indian rupee weakened Tuesday to its lowest level in almost two weeks, in line with other Asian currencies, which fell tracking broad dollar strength amid concerns the US Federal Reserve will taper its stimulus sooner than expected. The partially convertible rupee ended at 74.42/43 per dollar, compared with its close of 74.26 on Monday. The unit fell to a low of 74.4625 during the trade, its weakest since July 28.
7. Bitcoin: Bitcoin pulled back slightly to trade sideways Wednesday after a 20 percent rally. The cryptocurrency is trading flat at $45,916, whereas Ether is trading over 1.5 percent higher at $3,175.
8. Cryptos in India: The government on Tuesday said it will take all measures to eliminate the use of crypto-assets in funding illegitimate activities or as part of the payment system. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary also said the government will explore the use of blockchain technology proactively for ushering in the digital economy. Continue reading
9. India’s exports and imports: The country’s exports rose by 50.45 percent to USD 7.41 billion during August 1-7, on account of healthy growth in the shipments of engineering goods, gems and jewellery as well as petroleum products, according to provisional commerce ministry data. Imports during the week too grew by about 70 percent to USD 10.45 billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD 3 billion. Continue reading
10. Infrastructure bill passed: The US Senate on Tuesday passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that is a top priority for US President Joe Biden, a bipartisan victory for the White House that could provide the nation’s biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports and waterways.
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