10 things you need to know before the opening bell on April 5

1. US stocks | US stock prices rose to a 1 1/2-month high on Monday after data showing a surge in US employment while short-dated US bonds came under pressure on worries the Federal Reserve may bump up interest rates sooner than it has indicated. US S&P500 futures traded 0.5 percent higher, maintaining their gains made during a truncated session on Friday.

2. Asian markets | Shares in Japan and South Korea traded higher in Monday morning trade, as many major Asia-Pacific markets are closed for holidays. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.8 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, with China closed for Tomb-Sweeping day and Australia on Easter Monday.

3. Indian market on Thursday | The Indian benchmark equity indices ended with strong gains Thursday led by a rally in metals, banks and auto stocks amid positive global cues. The Sensex surged 520.68 points, or 1.05 percent to end at 50,029.83, while the Nifty closed 176.65 points, or 1.20 percent higher at 14,867.35. Broader markets outperformed the benchmarks. The Nifty Metal index jumped 5 percent while the auto, banking and fin services indices were up between 1 percent and 2 percent. FMCG index ended in the red. The market was shut on Friday on account of Good Friday.

4. Crude oil | Oil prices edged down in early Asian trade on Monday after OPEC+ agreed last week to gradually ease some of its production cuts between May and July. Brent crude futures for June fell 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $64.70 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude for May was at $61.32 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent.

5. Rupee | The rupee closed higher by 26 paise at 73.12 against the US dollar on March 31 (Wednesday) and ended the fiscal on a strong note with a gain of over 3 percent despite coronavirus-induced disruptions on the economic front. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.56 against the greenback and witnessed an intra-day high of 73.05 and a low of 73.58. It finally ended at 73.12 against the American currency, registering a rise of 26 paise over its previous closing. The currency market was shut on April 1 (Thursday) and 2 (Friday).

6. US job growth accelerates in March | US employers hired more workers than expected in March, spurred by increased vaccinations and more pandemic relief money from the government, cementing expectations that an economic boom was underway. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 916,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was the biggest gain since last August. Data for February was revised higher to show 468,000 jobs created instead of the previously reported 379,000.

7. Maharashtra announces strict COVID-19 guidelines | The Maharashtra government imposed new curbs including total lockdown on weekends and nigh curfew in weekdays amid rising COVID-19 cases in the state. The new set of strict guidelines which will be called ‘Break The Chain’ instead of ‘Mission Begin Again’ will come into effect from 8 pm on April 5 and are likely to be in place till April 30.

8. FPIs invest Rs 17,304 crore in March | Continuing the buying spree for the third consecutive month, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have invested Rs 17,304 crore in Indian markets so far in March. According to the depositories data, FPIs invested Rs 10,482 crore into equities and Rs 6,822 crore in the debt segment during March 1-31. The total net investment stood at Rs 17,304 crore during the period under review.

9. Eight of top-10 most valued companies add cumulatively over Rs 1.2 lakh cr in m-cap | Eight of the top-10 most valued companies together added Rs 1,28,503.47 crore in market valuation last week, with IT majors Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys leading from the front. The valuation of TCS jumped Rs 36,158.22 crore to reach Rs 11,71,082.67 crore, becoming the biggest gainer among the top-10 most valued companies. The m-cap of HDFC Bank declined by Rs 3,142.29 crore to Rs 8,19,474.22 crore and that of HDFC dipped by Rs 171.38 crore to Rs 4,56,569.82 crore.

10. Forex reserves fall by USD 2.986 bln to USD 579.285 bln | The country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 2.986 billion to reach USD 579.285 billion in the week ended March 26, RBI data showed. The fall in reserves was on account of a decrease in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves. FCA declined by USD 3.226 billion to USD 537.953 billion. In the previous week ended March 19, the forex kitty had increased by USD 233 million to USD 582.271 billion.