1. Asia: Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed Monday morning as U.S.-China tensions continue to heat up. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.07 percent in early trade, while the Topix index advanced 1.03 percent. South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, slipped 0.15 percent. Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dipped fractionally. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.15 percent lower, reported CNBC International. (Image: AP)
2. US: Futures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes held steady Sunday evening as investors turned their attention back to Washington and the economy after a busy week of corporate earnings. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 4 points, implying an opening trade slightly under the flatline when regular trading resumes on Thursday. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were also little changed. The overnight moves Sunday evening come after a mostly positive week on Wall Street and blowout earnings reports from some of the nation’s largest consumer technology companies, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
3. Crude Oil: Oil prices rose on Friday and finished the month higher, benefiting from news that U.S. oil output cuts in May were the largest on record. Brent crude was up 24 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $43.18 a barrel. On Thursday, Brent closed 1.9 percent down after touching its lowest level since July 10. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 35 cents, or 0.88 percent, to settle at $40.27 per barrel, after dropping 3.3 percent in the previous session, reported CNBC International. (Image: Reuters)
4. Rupee Close: The Indian currency settled marginally higher on Friday tracking weakness in the greenback. At the interbank forex market, the rupee opened at 74.74, and witnessed an intra-day high of 74.68 during the session and a low of 74.90 against the US dollar. The domestic unit finally settled for the day at 74.81, 3 paise higher over its previous close of 74.84. Traders said the uptick in the domestic currency was he driven by weak US dollar, which extended losses following poor economic data. (Image: Reuters)
5. Market At Close On Friday: The Indian indices ended marginally lower dragged by banks and sell off in Reliance Industries after it reported subdued results in the June quarter. Weakness in broader Asian markets after disappointing US GDP data also weighed on the indices. The Sensex ended 129 points lower at 37,607 while the Nifty lost 29 points to end at 11,073. Broader markets, however, outperformed indices. Nifty Midcap and Nifty Smallcap indices rose 0.5 percent and 1 percent, respectively. (Image: Reuters)
6. FM Nirmala Sitharaman On PSE Sale: In a bid to take the proposal of strategic sale of public sector enterprises (PSEs) forward, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government will soon come out with a new public sector enterprise policy and the proposal has been sent for cabinet's consideration. "The proposal has been sent to the cabinet. It will define the strategic sectors which will not have more than four PSUs," Sitharaman said. The government as part of the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' package, in May, had announced that there will be a maximum of four public sector companies in strategic sectors, and state-owned firms in other segments will eventually be privatised. She said there could be various models to achieve a minimum of four PSUs in case of those falling under the strategic sector. (Image: PTI)
7. FM Sitharaman On Impact Of Coronavirus On Economy: The coronavirus pandemic has definitely hit the supply chains which is continuing to disrupt the economic revival, said union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday. Speaking about the state of economy, she said the economy is definitely trying to come out of difficulty but it would be difficult to get a complete picture at this point of time due to the uncertainty around the pandemic. "The pandemic is still in. Due to the health situation often lockdowns need to be imposed in certain pockets, which is leading to disruptions in supply chain. Since this uncertainty is continuing, it will be very difficult to assess the revival right now," Sitharaman said. She said, "The value chains are getting disrupted due to containment zones in many parts of the country because of the pandemic. However, initial feelers are indicating towards a revival." (Image: PTI)
8. Govt Allows Export Of Ventilators: After more than four months of an export ban, the government has now allowed export of made in India ventilators. The declining rate of COVID-19 case fatalities and expanding ventilator manufacturing capacity in India has been quoted as the reason. The ministry of health in a statement said India is continuing to maintain a progressively declining low rate of case fatality of COVID-19 patients, which currently stands at 2.15 percent. This means that fewer numbers of active cases are on ventilators. The group of Ministers (GOM) on COVID-19 has considered and agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators. The government says, "Now with the export of ventilators having been allowed, it is hoped that domestic ventilators would be in a position to find new markets for Indian ventilators in foreign countries." (Stock Image)
9. Govt To Expand Scope Of MSME Credit Scheme: The Narendra Modi government intends to expand the scope of the Rs 3 lakh crore credit scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), union finance minister Niramala Sitharaman said at a media briefing held on Saturday. "Taking into account the remaining headroom under the scheme and after consultations with stakeholders, it is now intended to include individual loans given for business purposes within the ambit of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), subject to the condition that such loans should fulfill the eligibility criteria prescribed under the scheme," the government said in a note. Sitharaman said the scheme will now include individual loans given for business purposes within the ambit of the ECLGS subject to the eligibility criteria of the scheme. (Image: Reuters)
10. 8 Core Industries Output Contracts 15% In June: Contracting for the fourth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 15 per cent in June due to fall in the production of coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, cement and electricity. The eight core sectors had expanded by 1.2 percent in June 2019, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday showed. Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity - had recorded negative growth in May. (Image: AP)