10 things you need to know before the opening bell on April 23 – CNBCTV18

1. Wall Street: Stocks ended lower on Wall Street Thursday after dropping in afternoon trading on a report that President Biden will propose a hefty tax increase on the gains wealthy individuals reap from investments. The S&P 500, DJIA, and Nasdaq lost 0.9 percent each.

2. Asian stocks: Stocks in Asia-Pacific were mixed on Friday morning following an overnight drop on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 0.63 percent and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.23 percent. Mainland Chinese stocks nudged higher, with the Shanghai composite rising fractionally. Shares in Australia also edged lower as the S&P/ASX 200 dipped slightly. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.22 percent higher.

3. Dalal Street: Indian indices pared morning losses to end higher on Thursday led by metals and financials. Both Nifty and Sensex gained 2 percent from lows to close nearly 1 percent higher. The Sensex ended 374 points higher at 48,080 and the Nifty rose 109 points to settle at 14,406.

4. Oil: Oil prices rose on Friday on hopes of a fuel demand recovery in the United States and Europe as economic growth picks up and lockdowns ease, but worries about India’s raging second wave of COVID-19 cases kept a lid on gains. Brent crude futures 0.3 percent and US WTI crude futures jumped 0.5 percent, also after an 8 cent gain on Thursday.

5. Rupee: The rupee weakened further by 6 paise to close at 74.94 against the US dollar on Thursday as a persistent rise in COVID-19 cases and enhanced restrictions imposed by states weighed on investor sentiment. Increased concerns over forex outflows weighed on the local unit, analysts said. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened sharply lower at 75.25 against the greenback and traded in the range of 74.82 to 75.26 during the day.

6. Gold: Gold dipped Rs 168 to Rs 47,450 per 10 gram in the national capital on Thursday in line with weaker global precious metal prices. Silver, however, gained Rs 238 to Rs 69,117 per kg, from Rs 68,879 per kg in the previous trade. In the international market, gold was quoting lower at USD 1,791 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 26.45 per ounce.

10. Capital gains tax in the US: President Biden will reportedly aim to increase the capital gains tax to 39.6 percent for individuals earning over $1 million annually. The roughly 40 percent figure coincides with Biden’s original campaign promise that he posited in the latter part of 2020.