1. Asia: Stocks in Asia Pacific slipped in Thursday morning trade following an overnight plunge stateside that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 700 points. South Korea’s Kospi led losses among the region’s major markets as it slipped 1.32 percent. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.77 percent while the Topix index shed 0.7 percent. Shares in Australia also declined, with the S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.91 percent. Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded 0.44 percent lower. Markets in China and Hong Kong are closed on Thursday for a holiday. (image: Reuters)
2. US: Stocks futures were flat in overnight trading on Wednesday, following a steep market sell-off triggered by intensifying worries about a coronavirus resurgence. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30 points. The S&P futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. Trading volumes were thin overnight. The record spikes in new coronavirus cases in multiple states are damping hopes for a smooth economic recovery. (Image: AP)
3. Market At Close On Wednesday: The Indian equity market snapped four-day gaining streak to end lower on Wednesday on account of heavy selling in banking, pharma and metal stocks. The Sensex ended 561.45 points or 1.58 percent lower at 34,868.98 while the Nifty50 declined 156.80 points or 1.50 percent to close at 10,314.20. Losses in banking heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and Kotak Mahindra Bank dragged Bank Nifty to end more than 3 percent lower. (Image: Reuters)
4. Crude Oil: Oil prices fell nearly 6% on Wednesday after U.S. crude storage hit another record and coronavirus cases rebound in countries like Germany and surge in heavily populated areas of the United States. Brent crude was down $2.29, or 5.5 percent, to $40.29 a barrel, a day after hitting its highest levels since early March, just before the pandemic and Saudi-Russia price war hit the markets. West Texas Intermediate crude settled $2.36, or 5.85 percent, lower at $38.01 per barrel. (Image: Reuters)
5. Rupee Close: The Indian currency pared its early gains to settle down by 6 paise at 75.72 against the US currency amidst concerns over trade tensions between the EU and the US and rising COVID-19 cases. Forex traders said factors like weak domestic equities and India-China border tension also weighed on investor sentiment. The rupee opened at 75.61 against the US dollar, but lost ground and closed at 75.72, registering a fall of 6 paise over its previous close. (Image: Reuters)
6. Govt Extends Tax Compliance Deadlines: The government has extended the deadline for income tax compliance for 2018-19 to July 31 due to disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. CNBC-TV18 was the first to report that the Centre was planning to extend the deadline from June 30. Several tax compliance due dates such as those for completing proceedings, issuing orders, notices etc were due to be filed latest by June 30. (Representational Image)
7. Govt Brings Co-operative Banks Under RBI Supervision: The government has decided to bring Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and Multi-State Co-operative Banks under the governance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the government's intention to bring co-operative banks under the RBI's supervision in Budget 2020. RBI's powers will also apply to the cooperative banks as they apply to scheduled banks. (Image: Reuters)
8. SEBI Gives Another Month To File Q4 Earnings: Easing compliance requirements due to continuing adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic, market regulator Sebi on Wednesday gave another month's extension till July 31 to listed companies for submitting their fourth-quarter as well as annual results. Earlier, the deadline to submit the financial results was June 30. The development comes after Sebi received representations from listed entities, chartered accountant firms, and industry bodies, seeking further extension of time for filing of financial results for the quarter /half year/financial year ended March 31, 2020. (Image: Reuters)
9. India's Trade Deficit With China Slips To 5-year Low: India's merchandise trade deficit with China in FY20 slipped to $48.66 billion, at par with levels seen in FY15. The decline in trade deficit has been aided by weak import demand in a year when Indian economy grew by 4.2%, import restrictions imposed by New Delhi as well as sustained increase in shipments from Indian factories to Chinese shores. (Image: Reuters)
10. IMF Predicts 'Worse Than Anticipated' Slowdown: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a deeper recession for the global economy for 2020 than previously expected. As per its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, global growth is projected to decline by -4.9 percent in 2020, 190 basis points below IMF’s April forecast. This decline in growth in 2020 is expected to be followed by a partial recovery, with the growth seen at 5.4 percent in 2021. IMF had said that these projections imply a cumulative loss to the global economy over two years (2020–21) of over USD 12 trillion from this crisis. IMF has slashed India’s growth projection significantly since its last forecast in April. It has predicted a 4.5 percent contraction for India’s GDP in the current financial year.