10 things you need to know before the opening bell on March 9 – CNBCTV18

1. Wall Street: Wall Street ended mixed as slumps in several Big Tech companies offset gains in many other parts of the market. Technology companies have been sliding in recent weeks as investors start to doubt whether the huge gains they made during the pandemic months can continue. Treasury yields rose again. The S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent, to 3,821.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 percent, to 31,802.44. The Nasdaq fell 2.4 percent, to 12,609.16.

2. Asian stocks: Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Tuesday after starting the week by struggling for gains in what some analysts have described as a fragile environment. In Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 jumped 0.92 percent, extending advances from the previous session. Japanese shares struggled after market opened where the main Nikkei 225 index accrued further losses from the previous session, dropping 0.44 percent. South Korean shares fell sharply, with the Kospi down 1.38 percent and the Kosdaq tumbling 2.1 percent.

3. D-Street: Indian indices ended flat on Monday as gains in metals and energy stocks were capped by losses in financials and FMCG space. The Sensex ended 36 points higher at 50,441 while the Nifty rose 18 points to settle at 14,956. Broader markets, however, ended positively for the day with the midcap index up 0.3 percent and smallcap index up 0.5 percent.

4. Oil: Oil prices slipped on Monday after earlier climbing above $70 a barrel for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began after attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. Benchmark Brent climbed as high as $71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, its highest since Jan. 8, 2020. By 1019 GMT, it was trading down 30 cents or 0.4 percent at $69.06. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 22 cents or 0.3 percent at $65.87 after touching $67.98 a barrel, its highest since October 2018.

5. Gold: Gold prices on Monday fell by Rs 122 to Rs 44,114 per 10 grams in the national capital, in line with weak international market trend, according to HDFC Securities. The precious metal had closed at Rs 44,236 per 10 grams in the previous trading session. Silver, on the other hand, rose by Rs 587 to Rs 65,534 per kg as compared to the previous close of Rs 64,947 per kg.

6. Rupee: The rupee on Monday declined by 23 paise to close at 73.25 against the US dollar, extending its losses for the third session in a row due to rising crude oil prices and strengthening of the American currency in the overseas market. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.13 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.29 and a low of 72.93. It finally ended at 73.25 against the American currency, registering a fall of 23 paise over its previous closing.

7. State budget deficit: After Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, India’s richest state Maharashtra has also announced a revenue deficit budget. Another large state in Karnataka has also reported a revenue deficit budget. This shows the amount of strain on the coffers of the states as they battle the pandemic.

8. Google: Tech giant Google has announced that it will support 10 lakh women entrepreneurs in rural India through business tutorials, digital tools and mentorship. Besides, Google has decided to provide $25 million in overall funding to non-profits and social organisations working for the economic empowerment of girls and women globally.

9. Indian banks: The government is working on amendments to Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer) Act and Banking Regulation Act to facilitate the privatisation of public sector banks, said an official close to the development.

10. Farmer loans: Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal presented the state budget for FY21-22 with an outlay of Rs 1,68,015 crore on Monday (March 8) and said that the state government has decided to waive off loans of 1.13 lakh farmers.