What changed for the market while you were sleeping? 10 things you should know

The Nifty started with a gap on the higher side on Monday and rose to a fresh record high of 10,631.20 in morning trade and made a small bull candle on the daily candlestick charts.

The index which opened at 10,591 and rose to a record high of 10,631.20. It slipped marginally to 10,588 before closing 64 points higher to a fresh closing high of 10,623.

The Nifty closed at 10,623.6 on Friday. According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,597.67, followed by 10,571.73. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,640.37 and 10,657.13.

The Nifty Bank closed at 25,676.1. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,622.77, followed by 25,569.43. On the upside, key resistance levels are 25,750.46, followed by 25,824.83.

Stay tuned to Moneycontrol to find out what happens in currency and equity markets today. We have collated a list of important headlines from across news agencies.

The S&P 500 extended its winning streak for 2018 on Monday although its advance slowed to a crawl as the healthcare and financial sectors weighed and investors awaited the start of the quarterly earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.87 points, or 0.05 percent, to 25,283, the S&P 500 gained 4.56 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,747.71, and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.83 points, or 0.29 percent, to 7,157.39, Reuters reported.

Asian markets traded in positive territory on Tuesday after a quiet session on Wall Street. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.81 percent as markets re-opened following a long weekend. The Kospi edged up by 0.24 percent in early trade, CNBC reported.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India. Nifty futures were trading around 10,653-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

Crisil has maintained its FY19 growth estimate at 7.6 percent on the low base. "The pace of economic growth has slowed down this fiscal year, which is attributable mostly to the lingering impact of the demonetisation, transitory disruptions caused by the implementation of GST, and weak agricultural growth," it said.

Private consumption will grow 6.3 percent in FY18, over a high base of an 8.7 percent growth in FY17, and will remain the biggest contributor to GDP at 55.7 percent, the report said.

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The government bonds attracted bids worth nearly Rs 12,000 crore from foreign investors on Monday's auction, as against the debt investment limit of Rs 6,666 crore on offer, exchange data showed. FPIs put in bids worth Rs 11,988 crore (USD 1.89 billion) for investment limits in government debt, the data showed.

The government will today begin sale of 1.5 percent stake in NMDC at a floor price of Rs 153.50 apiece, with an option to retain over-subscription of equal quantum. Sale of 1.5 percent would fetch Rs 750 crore to the exchequer.

The stake sale will have a green-shoe option to retain over-subscription of a further 1.5 percent.

The finance ministry is considering extending the holding period for short-term capital gains (STCG) tax on listed securities from one year to three years, bringing equities on a par with some other asset classes in tax treatment.

The STCG tax on stocks and mutual funds is 15 per cent at present. Listed securities held above a year do not attract any tax. The long-term capital gains (LTCG) tax on this asset class was removed in 2005, Business Standard reported.

SEBI has put in place stricter norms wherein clearing corporations are now required to keep a close tab on losses made by members during intra-day trades. "For this purpose, crystallised losses can be offset against crystallised profits at a client level, if any," SEBI said in a circular on Monday.

"Adjustment of intra-day crystallised losses shall not be done from exposure free liquid net worth of the clearing member," the circular said.

Bitcoin sank on Monday after website CoinMarketCap removed prices from South Korean exchanges from its calculations of digital currency rates without any warning, resulting in a steep drop in all virtual coins they track.

Cryptocurrency prices tend to be much higher on South Korean exchanges because of huge demand and monetary restrictions in that country, analysts said, Reuters reported.

In the absence of suitable bidders, banks may choose to sell to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) many of the 28 stressed loan accounts the central bank asked them to resolve by 13 December or send to bankruptcy courts for launch of insolvency proceedings, Mint reported.

Government has extended the deadline for linking of biometric identification Aadhaar to small savings schemes like post office deposits, Kisan Vikas Patra by three months to March 31, 2018.

As many as 135 schemes (of 35 ministries) including the free cooking gas (LPG) to poor women, kerosene and fertiliser subsidy, targeted public distribution system (PDS) and MGNREGA will be covered by the extension.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed an order by the Karnataka high court which struck down a regulation that tobacco product packages must have a pictorial warning covering 85 percent of the space.

It was hearing an appeal filed by Health for Millions Trust, a non-government organisation, seeking an interim stay on the high court ruling, which directed reduction of the size of the pictorial warning on tobacco products from 85 percent to 40 percent, Mint reported.