Morning note:
The Union government re-appointed Shaktikanta Das as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a period of three years beyond December 10. Das was previously the department of economic affairs secretary at the finance ministry before being appointed as the head of RBI in 2018 for a three year period.
The initial public offering of FSN E-Commerce Ventures, the entity that operates Indian beauty startup Nykaa, was fully subscribed on the first day of sale.
Novelis, a subsidiary of India’s Hindalco, will invest $375 million in its Zhenjiang operation in China to expand recycling and production for aluminium products used in the auto industry. Metal recycling will play an important role in the energy transition, which includes a switch to electric vehicles from internal combustion engine cars. The world's largest aluminium recycler expects to complete the expansion project by the middle of 2024.
Cash-strapped Evergrande Group has made payments for an offshore bond coupon ahead of the expiry of a grace period on Friday, meeting its second U.S. dollar repayment obligation this month. – John Xavier
Our live blog will track important updates from the world of business, markets and economy.
Oil set for first weekly drop since August
Oil prices are headed for their first weekly losses since August as U.S. oil inventories rose more than expected, and Iran said it was resuming talks with Western powers which could end sanctions.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 4 cents to $82.77 a barrel while Brent crude futures rose 0.1%, to $84.44 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI were on track to fall about 1% for the week. This would be the first weekly drop in 10 weeks for WTI and the first in eight weeks for Brent.
U.S. oil stocks rose much more than expected in the week to Oct. 22 and now all eyes are on the next meeting of the OPEC+, on Nov. 4. whether they will stick to their plan to add 400,000 barrels per day of supply each month until April 2022.
Asian markets update | Sensex falls 700 points
The Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty opened on a weaker note amid mixed global cues. The Sensex fell over 700 points in the early trade while Nifty also lost over 150 points.
At 9:27 IST, Sensex was down 750 points or 1.25% at 59,234.69 and the Nifty was down 189 points or 1.01% at 18,521.97.
Sensex plunged 1,159 points yesterday after across-the-board selloff.
Asian shares fell after Amazon and Apple quarterly earnings opposed a recent strong trend and growth and inflation fears continued to weigh.
Chinese shares fell less than other markets as local blue chips traded flat. However, the Hong Kong benchmark was down 0.83%, primarily weighed by mainland Chinese property stocks.
---- Edited by John Xavier
(With inputs from Reuters, PTI and other news agencies.)