9 things to know before the market opens

• Asian markets were trading higher. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.86% or 25 points at 3,032.82. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.03% or 247.24 points at 24,143.34. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.58% or 55.85 points at 9,662.67. Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.91% or 28.74 points at 3,194.54. South Korea's Seoul Composite rose 1.63% or 35.40 points at 2,205.31. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted gained 1.95% or 172.01 points at 8,985.29.

• US equity markets surged overnight, ending close to their three-year high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 186.79 points higher, to 12434.54, its highest closing since June 5, 2008. Strong corporate earnings, particularly from the technology sector, are driving this spurt.

• The dollar ended down, still weighed down by rating agency S&P's recent thumbs-down to the US debt burden. Gold and silver again rose to new highs, but gold fell back to close below $1,500 an ounce. The outlook for these precious metals remains good.

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[caption id="attachment_5023" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Oil rose to $111 a barrel due to a drop in US crude supplies. Getty Images"][/caption]

• Oil rose to above $111 a barrel on Wednesday following an unexpected drop in US crude supplies. Since the beginning of 2011, oil is 20% on anticipation of rising global demand and the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. In London, Brent crude rose to $123.50 a barrel.

• SBI to withdraw its teaser home loan plans from May 1, ending a source of friction with RBI. To discourage teaser loans, the RBI had asked banks to make a higher provision of 2% of outstanding portfolio (against 0.4% earlier) for such loans with immediate effect. SBI officials say the RBI action was the primary reason for the withdrawal of the loan.

• The IPO from Muthoot Finance, India's largest gold financing company, has been subscribed 10 times with support from Qualified Institutional Bidders. The reserved portion for QIBs, which closes today, was subscribed more than 23 times; QIBs bid for more than 41 crore equity shares as against the reserved portion of 1.8 crore shares. The non-institutional and retail investors' portion, however, remains undersubscribed.

• A meeting of the Group of Ministers headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will be be held soon to decide on the $9.6-billion acquisition of Cairn India by Vedanta Resources. Cairn and Vedanta Resources had set a May 20 deadline for concluding the transaction. The GoM will consider the royalty on oil produced from Rajasthan oilfields, besides the government's first right of refusal.

• India's economy will likely grow 9% (rather than 10%) in the 12th Plan period, the Planning Commission believes. With inflationary pressure mounting it reckons that the 10% growth target set by the Prime Minister will be unrealisable. Even 9% growth hinges on policy changes in agriculture, manufacturing and industry.

• ONGC's follow-on IPO (FPO) initially slated for March but postponed owing to poor market conditions, is likely to hit the markets in June or July. The issue size is likely to be in excess of Rs 11,000 crore. The Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) will likely be filed with market regulator Sebi in May.