Posted on by Yashi Gupta

10 things you need to know before the opening bell on August 18

1. Wall Street: Stocks fell in afternoon trading Tuesday, as data showed the coronavirus pandemic is still holding back the US economy. The S&P 500 index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7 percent, 0.8 percent, and 0.9 percent, respectively.
2. Asian equities: Shares in Asia-Pacific were higher in Wednesday morning trade as investors reacted to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s interest rate decision. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.37 percent. Mainland Chinese stocks advanced as the Shanghai composite gained 0.34 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded 0.48 percent higher. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.32 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose fractionally. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.09 percent higher.
3. D-Street: The Indian equity benchmark indices closed higher on Tuesday after a volatile trading session led by IT and pharma stocks. The Sensex closed 235 points higher at 55,817 and the Nifty50 index moved over 58 points higher to close at 16,621 for the day.
brent crude oil
4. Crude oil: Oil prices dipped Wednesday, a fifth day of declines with investors wary about prospects for stronger fuel demand as the use of rail, air and other forms of transport remained constrained amid surging COVID-19 cases worldwide. Brent crude was down 0.1 percent at $68.98 a barrel. US oil lost 0.1 percent to $66.53 a barrel.
5. Rupee: The rupee on Tuesday declined by 11 paise to close at 74.35 against the US currency due to a stronger dollar in the overseas markets. Meanwhile, the dollar index was trading 0.06 percent higher at 92.68.
6. Gold: Gold prices rallied by Rs 15 to Rs 47,225 per 10 grams Tuesday, with recovery in global precious metal prices and rupee depreciation. Silver declined Rs 307 to Rs 63,457 per kg, from Rs 61,564 per kg in the previous trade. In the international market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,793 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.88 per ounce.
7. Bitcoin: Cryptocurrencies were trading mostly lower Tuesday as Bitcoin pulled back. It was last trading nearly 2.5 percent lower  at $45,012. Ether was also trading nearly 4 percent down at $3,037.
8. RBI paper: The year 2021 could turn out to be India’s year of IPO with the domestic unicorns through their public issues setting “domestic stock markets on fire and global investors in a frenzy”, an RBI article said on Tuesday. The successful Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) by new age companies in the recent months are a reflection of bullishness about Indian technology, it said. Continue reading
9. RoDTEP rates: The government has notified the Remission of Duties & Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP) rates in the range of 0.3-4.3 percent. These rates will cover 8,555 tariff lines. RoDTEP support will be available to eligible exporters at a notified rate as the percentage of FOD value.
10. Retail industry: India’s e-retail market has reached $38 billion through FY21 despite the overall retail market shrinking by 5 percent and a 7.3 percent contraction in the GDP. Continue reading