10 things you need to know before the opening bell on April 28 – CNBCTV18

1. Wall Street | Tepid results from Tesla and 3M weighed on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow ending near flat as investors focused on wave of earnings reports from Microsoft, Alphabet and other corporate heavyweights. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.01 percent to end at 33,984.93 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.02 percent to 4,186.72. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.34 percent, to 14,090.22.

2. Asian market | Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday as already high valuations discouraged investors from buying equities ahead of a closely-watched U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.23 percent. Australian stocks rose 0.55 percent, but shares in China slipped 0.44 percent. Stocks in Tokyo edged 0.16 percent higher. S&P 500 e-mini stock futures rose 0.09 percent.

3. Indian market on Tuesday | The Indian equity market ended higher on Tuesday led by strong gains in metals, banks and auto stocks. The Sensex surged 557.63 points, or 1.15 percent to 48,944.14, while the Nifty closed 168.85 points, or 1.17 percent higher at 14,653.85. Broader markets supported the rally with smallcap and midcap indices rising over 1.5 percent each. All the sectoral indices ended in the green with Nifty Metal and Nifty PSU rallying over 2 percent each followed by pharma, auto, financial services and IT indices.

4. Crude Oil | Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, paring overnight gains, with soaring COVID-19 cases in India and a bigger-than-expected build in US crude stocks offsetting confidence shown by OPEC and its allies in a solid recovery in global fuel demand. Brent crude futures fell 26 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $66.16 a barrel, paring a 1.2 percent gain from Tuesday. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 23 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $62.71 a barrel, after gaining 1.7 percent on Tuesday.

5. Rupee | The rupee appreciated by 7 paise to close at 74.66 against the US dollar in its second day of gains on Tuesday on dollar selling by exporters and a rally in Indian equities. The local unit continued to rise against the dollar on upbeat risk sentiments even as investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting ending on Wednesday. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened strong at 74.65 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.51 and a low of 74.73. It finally ended at 74.66 against the American currency, registering a rise of 7 paise over its previous closing.

6. Lockdowns pull down biz activity to 76% of pre-pandemic level; unlikely to impact GDP | Business activity has fallen by a fourth of the pre-COVID levels due to lockdowns imposed by states to contain the spread of the second wave of COVID-19, Japanese brokerage Nomura said on Tuesday. However, it said the falling activity levels will have a muted economic impact and maintained its growth estimates for the year, saying the lockdowns present downside risks. As of April 25, the Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) registered its steepest weekly fall in over a year of 8.5 percentage points to 75.9, which is 24 percentage points below pre-pandemic normal, the brokerage said in a statement.

7. Brickwork Ratings revises downwards GDP forecast to 9% for FY22 | Brickwork Ratings revised downwards the country’s FY22 GDP growth projection to 9 percent from an earlier estimate of 11 percent. Brickwork Ratings in a report said the deadly second wave of COVID-19 has brought an abrupt halt to the country’s nascent economic recovery from the pandemic. “The outlook for growth continues to remain positive mainly due to the low base, and we revise FY22 GDP growth to 9 per cent from the earlier estimates of 11 per cent,” the agency said.

8. Sebi issues guidelines to strengthen provisional rating policies for debt instruments | Markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday came out with new framework to strengthen policies on provisional rating by credit rating agencies (CRAs) for debt instruments. Under the framework, all provisional ratings (‘long term’ or ‘short term’) for debt instruments need to be prefixed as ‘provisional’ before the rating symbol in all communications– rating letter, press release and rating rationale, Sebi said in a circular. Further, a rating will be considered as provisional, and not final in cases where certain compliances that are crucial to the assignment of credit rating are yet to be complied with or certain documentations remain to be executed at the time of rating.

9. India’s organic food products exports rise 51 pc to USD 1bn in 2020-21 | The country’s exports of organic food products rose by 51 percent year-on-year to USD 1 billion (Rs 7,078 crore) in 2020-21, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. The main goods which recorded healthy growth in exports include oil cake meal, oilseeds, fruit pulps and purees, cereals and millets, spices and condiments, tea, dry fruits, sugar, pulses, coffee, and essential oil. India’s organic products have been exported to 58 countries including the USA, European Union, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Switzerland, Israel, and South Korea.

10. ANMI seeks extension of deadline for compliance filings by brokers | Stock brokers’ association ANMI on Tuesday said it has requested authorities to extend timelines for mandatory compliance requirements of the broking industry to up to July 31, 2021, or till such time lockdown is continued across various states.