Top 10 things to know Before Market opens.

Indian Market

The market is expected to open in the green as trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 66 points.The BSE Sensex declined 104 points to 61,702, while the Nifty50 fell 35 points to 18,385 and formed small bodied bullish candle with long lower shadow which resembles hammer kind of pattern on the daily charts, indicating emergence of buying interest from lower levels, at the close on Tuesday.As per the pivot charts, the key support level for the Nifty is placed at 18,254, followed by 18,206 and 18,129. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 18,408 followed by 18,456 and 18,533.

US MarketsWall Street closed slightly higher on Tuesday after four sessions of declines, but investors fretted about weak holiday shopping and rising bond yields added pressure after the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) surprise tweak of monetary policy.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.2 points, or 0.28 percent, to 32,849.74, the S&P 500 gained 3.96 points, or 0.10 percent, to 3,821.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.08 points, or 0.01 percent, to 10,547.11.

Asian MarketsMarkets in the Asia-Pacific traded mixed after Wall Street ended its four-day losing streak as global bonds rose after the Bank of Japan adjusted its yield curve control tolerance.Japan continued its second day of losses, as the Nikkei 225 fell 0.98 percent and the Topix lost 0.65 percent. The Kospi in South Korea erased earlier gains and was flat.

SGX NiftyTrends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 66 points. The Nifty futures were trading around 18,492 levels on the Singaporean exchange.

SEBI tweaks share buyback norms, brings bourses under radarThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) tweaked the present share buyback norms for listed companies and tightened disclosure rules in its bid to increase transparency and credibility of markets.“Buyback through stock exchange route to be phase out in a gradual manner,” India’s capital market’s regulator said in a release post its scheduled board meet on Tuesday (December 20).Companies have to now use 75 percent of the proceeds of the buyback undertaken through the stock exchange route from the existing minimum of 50 percent. Buybacks will be undertaken through a separate window on stock exchanges till the time they are permitted through the exchanges, the regulator said.The regulator has also proposed a reduction in the time a share buyback process is open in the market to 66 days from the present 90 days.

Fitch affirms BBB- rating for India, maintains stable outlookFitch Ratings on December 20 said it has affirmed India’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘BBB-‘ while maintaining the “stable outlook” that it assigned to the country in June this year.India’s rating reflects “strengths from a robust growth outlook compared to peers and still-resilient external finances”, which have supported India in navigating the large external shocks during the past year, the New York-based rating agency said.Simultaneously, Fitch also flagged India’s “weak public finances”, illustrated by “high deficits and debt relative to peers”. According to the agency, India’s economy is likely to grow at 7 percent in the fiscal ending March 2023. The forecast is underpinned by by “sustained consumption” and “investment recoveries”, it added.

RBI net sold $922 million foreign currency in October: RBI BulletinThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold $922 million worth of foreign currency on a net basis in October to shore up the rupee, which is sharply lower than it did in September. Data released by the central bank on December 20 showed net sales of foreign currency in October was $25.78 billion and net purchases was $24.86 billion.Further RBI bulletin showed net forward dollar holdings stood at $241 million at the end of October, compared with $10.42 billion as of end-September.

Oil prices settle flat on weak dollar, worries US winter storm could cut travelOil prices ended mostly flat on Tuesday in a volatile session as a worsening outlook for a major US winter storm sparked fears that millions of Americans might curb travel plans during the holiday season.Brent crude futures settled up 19 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $79.99 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled flat at $75.19 per barrel.

FII and DII dataForeign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 455.94 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 494.74 crore on December 20, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Japan warns of China’s COVID situation, cuts view on factory outputJapan will pay close attention to the COVID-19 situation in China, in addition to risks from a global economic slowdown, price hikes and supply constraints, according to its monthly report for December.The economic report from the Cabinet Office comes as Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, wrestles with sluggish global growth and high import costs that have weighed on its exports and manufacturing activity.The government cut its view on factory output for the first time in six months as global demand for semiconductors is pausing, but it kept its assessment on the overall economy unchanged by saying it was “improving moderately”.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSEThe National Stock Exchange has retained Delta Corp, GNFC, Indiabulls Housing Finance, IRCTC, and Punjab National Bank under its F&O ban list for December 21. Securities thus banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.With inputs from Reuters and other agencies