10 things you need to know before the opening bell on September 1
1. Wall Street: Wall Street ended a wobbly day with mixed results Tuesday, but the S&P 500 still managed to close out August with a solid gain. It marked the seventh straight winning month for the benchmark index, its longest such streak since early 2018. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent below the latest record high it had set just one day earlier. Weakness in Big Tech stocks weighed down the S&P 500, as well as the Nasdaq composite as it fell 0.1 percent. DJIA also fell 0.1 percent.2. Asian stocks: Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade, as a private survey showed shrinking Chinese factory activity in August. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed and stocks in Hong Kong hovered fractionally higher. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.96 percent. Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.19 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.19 percent lower.3. D-Street: The Indian equity benchmark indices scaled new record highs Tuesday and closed over a percent higher as investors pushed metal, pharma, and IT stock higher. The Sensex closed at 57,552 — over 662 points higher and the Nifty50 index closed over 201 points higher at 17,132. Both the indices closed at record highs. Nifty saw the fastest-ever 1,000-point gain in its move from 16,000 to 17,000.4. Oil: Oil settled down 1 percent Tuesday, posting its first monthly loss since March, as demand is expected to drop after Hurricane Ida shuttered US Gulf refineries. Brent crude futures for October, due to expire on Tuesday, settled down 0.6 percent at $72.99 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled down 1 percent at $68.50.5. Rupee: The rupee strengthened further by 29 paise to close at a nearly 12-week high of 73.00 against the US dollar Tuesday, marking its fourth straight session of gain following a firm trend in domestic equities and foreign fund inflows. The dollar index was trading down 0.12 percent at 92.54.6. Gold: Gold on Tuesday dipped Rs 29 to Rs 47,164 per 10 gram amid rupee appreciation. Silver also dipped Rs 286 to Rs 63,587 per kilogram. In the international market, gold was trading higher at USD 1,814 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 23.92 per ounce.7. Bitcoin: Bitcoin is trading at $46,000 Wednesday morning as investor focus shifts to the latest round of regulatory developments in the market. The coin is down half a percent at $46,885 while the altcoins are trading in the green. Ether has risen over 6 percent in the last 24 hours, trading at $3,433.8. GDP: Amid the coronavirus pandemic, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 20.1 percent in the April-June quarter of the fiscal year 2021-22, according to official data released by the government on Tuesday evening. Continue reading9. CEA Subramanian: As the Indian economy grew by 20.1 percent on a low base in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22, Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian on Tuesday said the figures are indicative of economic recovery. He, however, said, last year’s growth decline has nothing to do with the economic fundamentals. Due to the national lockdown last year, GDP had contracted by nearly 24 percent. Continue reading10. Fiscal deficit: India’s fiscal deficit in April-July stood at Rs 3.21 lakh crore as against Rs 8.21 lakh crore (YoY), government data showed on Tuesday. The deficit figures this fiscal appear much better than the previous financial year, when it soared to 103.1 percent of the estimate, mainly on account of a jump in expenditure to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading
