Market Morning Brief: What you must know as trading begins on Dalal Street

Good Morning dear Business Today readers!

Oil has boiled above $40, which helped Wall Street log fifth straight session of gains, but Asian markets were ruling in red terrain after inching up in green for a while.

Besides, the liquor baron Vijay Mallya's troubles are far from over. In a double whammy, the Debt Recovery Tribunal barred his exit from Diageo, while the ED registered a money laundering case against him.

Read on for more such updates that you must know before playing the bourses:

1) Oil prices

Global oil markets jumped more than 5 per cent on Monday, with Brent hitting a 2016 peak above $40 a barrel, after Ecuador said it was holding a meeting of Latin American crude producers as OPEC sought a higher anchor price for oil.

Strong US jobs growth and a cut in the country's crude drilling activities were also the supportive factors. Technically-driven buying in crude and a commodities rally also boosted oil.

On Tuesday, Brent dipped but held above the crucial $40 level.

2) Wall Street update

A spike in energy share thanks to a 5-per cent jump in oil prices pushed S&P 500 to end above 2000-mark for the first time since January 5. It was a fifth consecutive session of gains, a streak not seen since October. It is up more than 23 per cent from its 2016 low in mid-January.

3) Asian markets

China's trade, which is due later in the day kept Asian markets on edges despite a smart rally in crude prices. China's Shanghai Composite was trading 2.94 per cent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.16 per cent. Japan's Nikkei also fell 1.56 per cent revised government data showed the economy shrank at an annualized 1.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2015.

4) Gold prices

Gold edged up to trade near a 13-month high on Tuesday, supported by hopes the US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates as soon as its next week's meeting.

5) Vijay Mallya's double whammy  

In a double whammy, the Debt Recovery Tribunal barred him from accessing $75 million (Rs 515 crore) exit payment from Diageo till the loan default case with SBI is settled while the ED registered a money laundering case against him in another default case.