10 things you need to know before the opening bell on January 1
1. Wall Street | US stocks ended a tumultuous year with the Dow and S&P 500 at records, as the three major U.S. equity indexes notched solid-to-spectacular yearly gains despite an economy upended by the COVID-19 virus as investors looked to a post-pandemic world. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 196.92 points, or 0.65 percent, to 30,606.48, the S&P 500 gained 24.03 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,756.07 and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.28 points, or 0.14 percent, to 12,888.28. (Image: Reuters)2. Asian Markets | Asian stock markets closed mostly higher on Thursday following gains in US markets. Investors booked profits amid thin holiday trading ahead of the new year. Major Asian markets were closed for New Year’s Eve.3. Indian Market | The Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, ended Thursday’s choppy session on a flat note. Nifty ended flat at 13,982 after crossing 14,000 Intra-day for the first time ever, while Sensex closed 5 points higher at a record closing high of 47,751. Gains in metals, pharma, realty and auto stocks were countered by selling pressure in FMCG, PSU Banks and financial stocks. Broader markets outperformed with Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 ending 0.13 percent and 0.38 percent higher, respectively.4. Crude Oil | Global crude prices edged higher on Thursday but lost more than a fifth of their value in 2020, as lockdowns to combat the novel coronavirus depressed economic activity and sent oil markets reeling. On the last trading day of 2020, Brent rose 17 cents to settle at $51.80 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 12 cents to settle at $48.52 a barrel. Brent fell 21.5% for the year, with WTI falling 20.5%.5. Rupee | Rising for the sixth straight session, the rupee spurted 24 paise to end at a nearly four-month high of 73.07 against the US dollar on the last day of the year on Thursday, supported by a weak American currency and rise in risk appetite. At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.15 against the US dollar and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.01 and a low of 73.17. The local unit finally settled at 73.07, registering a rise of 24 paise over its previous close.6. US jobless claims | The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 but remain elevated at 787,000 as a resurgent coronavirus grips the US economy. While at the lowest level in four weeks, the new figures released Thursday by the Labor Department are nearly four times higher than a year ago before the coronavirus struck. Employers continue to cut jobs as rising coronavirus infections keep many people at home while state and local governments re-impose restrictions.7. RBI | The RBI will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each on January 7, 2021. The central bank will purchase three government securities (G-Sec) of different maturity dates aggregating to Rs 10,000 crore and sell two securities aggregating to the same amount using the multiple price auction method.8. SEBI | Due to operational challenges presented by AMFI, the markets regulator Sebi on Thursday has extended the date of implementation of uniformity in applicability of NAV on realisation of funds to February 1, 2021 from January 1, 2021. According to the new rules which was announced in September, investors will purchase NAV of the day when investor’s money reach AMC, irrespective of the size of the investments.9. RoDTEP scheme extended | Giving relief to exporters, the government on Thursday said it has decided to extend the benefit of tax refund scheme RoDTEP to all goods, with effect from Friday. In March, the government approved the scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) for reimbursement of taxes and duties to exporters, with a view to give a boost to the country’s dwindling outbound shipments.10. Fiscal deficit widens | The Centre’s fiscal deficit for April-November 2020 soared to Rs 10.76 lakh crore, or 135 percent of the full year budgeted target of Rs 7.96 lakh crore, as the government’s finances continued to be stretched due to lower revenues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic slowdown. Total expenditure for the first eight months of the current fiscal year was Rs 19.06 lakh crore or 62 percent of the budget size of Rs 30 lakh crore. This compares to 65.3 percent for the same period last year, when total expenditure for April-November 2019 was Rs 18.20 lakh crore versus a budget size of Rs 27.9 lakh crore.
