10 things to know before the opening bell on November 25
1. Asia: Shares in Asia traded higher after the US and China made positive comments on the trade deal. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.79 percent in early trade, with shares of index heavyweights Fast Retailing, Softbank Group, and Fanuc all seeing gains. South Korea’s Kospi also gained 0.93 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.27 percent higher. (Image: Reuters) 2. US: Wall Street advanced on Friday as both Washington and Beijing made positive comments on the potential for a trade deal between the world’s two biggest economies and upbeat domestic economic data helped to ease investor worries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 109.33 points, or 0.39 percent, to 27,875.62, the S&P 500 gained 6.75 points, or 0.22 percent, to 3,110.29 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.67 points, or 0.16 percent, to 8,519.89. (Image: AP)3. Markets At Close On Friday: Indian equities edged lower on Friday, dragged by IT stocks, even as Asian shares recovered from a three-week low though concerns over trade negotiations between China and the United States lingered. The Sensex ended 216 points lower at 40,359, while the Nifty50 index ended 52 points lower at 11,916. For the week Sensex was up 0.03 percent and Nifty rose 0.2 percent. Meanwhile, the foreign institutional investors sold Rs 832 crore in the cash market while the domestic institutional investors bought Rs 679 crore during Friday’s trading session. (Image: Reuters)4. Currency: The Indian rupee furthered its gains by 5 paise to close at 71.71 against the US dollar on Friday, helped by sustained foreign fund inflows and lower crude oil prices. Starting on a steady note, the rupee went through bouts of volatility during the session and touched an intra-day low of 71.87 against the US dollar. Experts attributed the initial bouts of volatility in the forex market to lack of guiding factors on the domestic front and uncertainty with regard to ongoing global trade tariff tussle. (Image: Reuters)5. Crude Oil: Oil prices fell on Friday, pulling back from two-month highs as concern over U.S.-China trade talks overshadowed expectations of an extension to OPEC+ production cuts. Brent crude futures shed 40 cents to settle at $63.57 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures shed 81 cents, or 1.4 percent, to settle at $57.77 a barrel. (Image: AP)6. Government On Oil PSUs: The government may end the cross-holding structure existing in the oil sector as it looks to further consolidate operations of public sector enterprises and go ahead with its privatization plan by getting a fair valuation of assets. Official sources said that all oil sector PSUs would be asked to exit from their investments made in equity shares of other state-owned entities. This could be done in phases, depending on the market conditions, so that the shares get a maximum valuation. (Image: Reuters)7. DIPAM On ETF Funds: The government has so far garnered Rs 17,364.26 crore from disinvestment, but around 82 percent (Rs 14,369.03 crore) of it has been accrued from the index funds and not from stake sales, showing the reliance on funds have worked out well for selloff as a strategy. The Bharat 22 ETF under its FFO 2 mopped up Rs 4,368.80 crore and CPSE ETF under FFO sixth tranche collected Rs 10,000.32 crore in this financial year, as per the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) data. (Image: Reuters)8. Government To Amend IBC: The government plans to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to provide immunity to companies taking over stressed assets from prosecution for financial crimes committed by erstwhile promoters. This will help make the insolvency process more attractive for the bidders and instill confidence in them, sources said. The amendment comes after several companies that are vying for assets being auctioned under IBC expressed concern regarding getting into legal trouble over the cases against previous promoters. In many of the cases under insolvency, the promoters are under investigation by various agencies, the sources said. (Image: IANS)9. RBI On Corporate Governance: The Reserve Bank is looking at introducing new rules on corporate governance for banks in sync with global ones, and would also like lenders to disclose more, Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan said on Friday. Vishwanathan also urged banks to recognize losses because of NPAs as early as possible and not to defer the same. Citing the case of under-reporting of NPAs which used to go unrecognized earlier and is made compulsory now, and the benefits it gets, the DG urged banks to disclose as much as possible to present a truthful picture. (Image: Reuters)10. RBI Governor On Finance Commissions: Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday said there is a “great need” to institutionalize state finance commissions and helping the local bodies enhance their revenue generation capacities. He said fiscally strong states and Centre is the “essence” of Indian federalism and weakness at either end poses a slew of challenges for the country. The governor also said that GST introduction and formation of Niti Aayog give a greater role to the states in our federal set up. Das said local bodies deserve more attention and is an aspect that needs to be looked into. (Image: PTI)
