10 things you need to know before the opening bell on July 25

SUMMARY

Indian shares looked set for a positive start on Thursday, as investors are likely to pick beaten-down stocks after five days of continued selling. While the US stocks surged to record highs as chipmakers rallied, Asian shares remained cautious as the euro hovered near two-month lows on bolstered expectations of rate cuts in Europe. At 7:15 AM, the SGX Nifty futures traded 23.50 points higher at 11,296, pointing to a positive start for the Sensex and the Nifty 50.

By CNBC-TV18Jul 25, 2019 8:44:44 AM IST (Updated)

1. Asia: Asian shares were cautious on Thursday, shrugging off a tech-fuelled rally on Wall Street while the euro hovered near two-month lows as soft economic data bolstered expectations of rate cuts in Europe. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5 percent to nearly three-month highs while Australia's benchmark index hit a new 12-year top on Wednesday. South Korea's KOSPI was the only index in the red as leading chipmakers shed recent gains amid trade tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.

2. US: Tech companies led the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record closing highs on Wednesday but the Dow lost ground on downbeat earnings, while the euro dropped to a two-month low, pressured by soft economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 79.22 points, or 0.29 percent, to 27,269.97, the S&P 500 gained 14.09 points, or 0.47 percent, to 3,019.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 70.10 points, or 0.85 percent, to 8,321.50.

3. Markets At Close On Wednesday: The Sensex ended 135.09 points lower at 37,847.65 while the Nifty was down 59.75 points at 11,271.30. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,394 crore on a net basis in the cash market, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 2,140 crore on July 24.

4. Currency: In currency markets, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against six major currencies, nudged lower to 97.683. The Indian rupee gained 0.04 paise or 0.05 percent to Rs 68.97 on Wednesday.

5. Crude Oil: Oil ticked higher early on Thursday after falling in the previous session as more signs of slowing global growth added to demand concerns, with Middle East tensions underpinning prices. Brent crude futures were up 6 cents at $63.24 a barrel by 0053 GMT, after dropping 1 percent overnight, falling for the first time in four sessions. US West Texas Intermediate crude was 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, higher at $55.99 a barrel, having dropped 1.6 percent in the previous session.

6. New SEBI Norms: Issuances of infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) are expected to grow fivefold to more than Rs 2 trillion in next two years, following the relaxation of some norms by the regulator Sebi, says a report. According to the Crisil, the amendments in InvIT regulations by the Sebi has accelerated adoption of the financial instrument as an asset class.

7. Income Tax Department: The Income Tax Department will use data mining and risk profiling rather than intrusive methods for tax collection, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Wednesday while exuding the confidence of achieving the direct tax mop-up target for the current fiscal. In the 2019-20 Budget, the government has set a direct tax collection target of Rs 13.35 lakh crore, which includes Rs 7.66 lakh crore being collected as corporate taxes and Rs 5.69 lakh crore as income tax. As per the revised estimates for 2018-19, the government collected Rs 12 lakh crore from direct taxes, of which Rs 6.71 lakh crore was from corporate taxes and Rs 5.29 lakh crore from income tax.

8. DBS On GDP Growth: The economy will not be able to achieve the official forecast of 7 percent growth in FY20, making it a second consecutive year of sub-7 percent expansion, says a report. Singaporean lender DBS estimates FY20 growth to stay at 6.8 percent, the same as FY19. The economic survey earlier this month had pegged growth to rise to 7 percent. "FY20 growth is likely to be sub-7 percent for a second straight year," its economists led by Radhika Rao, said in a note Wednesday.

9. FDI In E-Commerce: A committee has been constituted under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to examine issues related to FDI in the e-commerce sector, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The committee was constituted on July 12 under an additional secretary-level officer from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) with members from the departments of commerce, consumer affairs, legal affairs and MSME. They will examine issues related to FDI (foreign direct investment) in the e-commerce sector and give suggestions, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

10. Investors' Wealth Erosion: Investors have suffered a wealth erosion of Rs 5.86 lakh crore in the last five sessions as sentiment remained bearish amid tepid corporate earnings and heavy foreign fund outflows. Led by the weak market sentiment, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies plunged Rs 5,86,008.88 crore to Rs 1,43,27,797.54 crore.