1. Wall Street | US equities ended higher at the close on Friday led by gains in the Technology, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.04 percent, or 13.36 points, to 34,479.60, while the S&P 500 index added 0.19 percent, or 8.26 points, to 4,247.44. The NASDAQ Composite index closed 0.35 percent, or 49.09 points, higher at 14,069.42.
2. Asian markets | Asian markets traded mixed Monday morning with multiple major markets in the region closed for holidays. In Japan, Nikkei 225 rose 0.45 percent while the Topix index gained 0.25 percent, South Korea’s Kospi dipped marginally. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.13 percent lower. Markets in Australia, mainland China and Hong Kong are closed on Monday for holidays.
3. Indian market on Friday | Indian benchmark equity indices ended at record closing highs on Friday led by IT, metal and pharma stocks, as more states eased pandemic restrictions. The Sensex ended 174.29 points, or 0.33 percent higher at a record closing high of 52,474.76 while the Nifty gained 61.60 points, or 0.39 percent, to settle at a new closing high of 15,799.35. Broader markets were also in the green for the day with the midcap index up 0.2 percent and smallcap index up 0.6 percent. Among sectors, Nifty Metal index gained the most followed by Nifty IT, Nifty Pharma and Nifty Auto. Selling was seen in banks, financials and FMCG sectors.
4. Crude oil | Oil prices held near multi-year highs on Monday, underpinned by an improved outlook for demand as increased COVID-19 vaccinations help lift travel curbs. Brent crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $72.83. It rose 1.1 percent last week and hit the highest since May 2019 of $73.09 on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate was also up 14 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $71.05 a barrel, after reaching the highest since October 2018 at $71.24 on Friday and rising 1.9 percent on the week.
5. Rupee | The Indian rupee on Friday settled marginally lower at 73.07 against the US dollar, marking its fourth loss in a row, even as some positive factors helped the domestic unit stay away from any deep loss. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 72.97 per dollar as against its previous close of 73.06. It hovered in the range of 72.91 to 73.09 during the day before ending at 73.07 a loss of 1 paisa against the US currency. On a weekly basis, the rupee fell 8 paise against the US dollar.
6. April IIP | The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) stood at 126.6 points in April this year. The IIP was at 54 points in April 2020 and 126.5 points in April 2019. As per the partial data, IIP growth works out to be 134 per cent in April 2021 over the same month last year, mainly due to the low base effect.
7. GST Council cuts tax on COVID-19 medicines, equipment | The GST Council slashed the tax rate on COVID-19 medicines such as Remdesivir and equipment like oxygen concentrators and medical grade oxygen. While GST on Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B is slashed to nil from 5 percent, the rate on Remdesivir and anti-coagulants like Heparin is lowered from 12 percent to 5 percent. Tax on medical grade oxygen, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPAP machines and high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) devices has been cut to 5 percent from 12 percent, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Also, tax on Covid testing kits has been brought down to 5 percent from 12 percent. Pulse oximeters, hand sanitisers, temperature check equipment and ambulances too will attract lower 5 percent tax, she said.
8. Four IPOs to hit markets this week; companies eye Rs 9,123 crore | The IPO market is getting back on track after a lull of two months, with four companies launching their initial share-sales this week to raise Rs 9,123 crore collectively. Shyam Metalics and Energy Ltd and Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) will launch their IPOs on Monday, while Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences and Dodla Dairy will be open for public subscription from Wednesday, information with exchanges showed.
9. Forex reserves cross $600 bn mark for first time | The country’s foreign exchange reserves crossed the USD 600 billion mark for the first time after increasing by USD 6.842 billion in the week ended June 4, RBI data showed. The reserves surged to a record USD 605.008 billion in the reporting week, helped by a rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
10. FPIs invest Rs 13,424 crore in Indian markets in June so far | Overseas investors pumped in a net Rs 13,424 crore so far in June as risk-on sentiment improved with declining COVID-19 cases and hopes of the early opening of the economy. Depositories data showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested Rs 15,520 crore in equities during June 1-11. At the same time, FPIs withdrew Rs 2,096 crore from the debt segment during the period under review. This comes following a net withdrawal of Rs 2,666 crore in May and Rs 9,435 crore in April.