Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on April 18, 2022

Wall Street stocks finished lower while bond yields and the dollar rose on Thursday as investors worried about the potential for aggressive US policy tightening as other central banks around the world moved to reduce support. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.36 points, or 0.33 percent, to 34,451.23 while the S&P 500 lost 54 points, or 1.21 percent, to 4,392.59 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 292.51 points, or 2.14 percent, to 13,351.08.

Shares in Asia largely slipped in Monday morning trade as investors await Chinese economic data, including the economic powerhouse’s first-quarter gross domestic product figures. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.77 percent in morning trade as shares of Fast Retailing and SoftBank Group declined more than 1 percent each. The Topix index shed 1.64 percent. Mainland Chinese stocks were also lower, with the Shanghai composite down about 1 percent and the Shenzhen component shed 1.484 percent.

Frontline indices the Sensex and the Nifty ended in the red for the third consecutive session on April 13 as investors remained cautious over rising inflation and commodity prices and their impact on the earnings of corporates. Sensex closed 237 points, or 0.41 percent, down at 58,338.93 while the Nifty settled 55 points, or 0.31 percent, lower at 17,475.65.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 254 points or 1.54 percent lower at 17,251, indicating a gap-down opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday as lockdowns eased in Shanghai and as Russian oil and gas condensate production fell to 2020 lowsand OPEC warned it would be impossible to replace potential supply losses from Russia. Brent crude futures rose $6.16, or 6.3 percent, to settle at $104.64 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate rose $6.31, or 6.7 percent, to settle at $100.60.

The rupee fell 4 paise to close at 76.18 per dollar in the previous session on April 13. The Indian currency has been volatile of late owing to geopolitical issues, fluctuating crude oil prices and FPIs selling. Over the near term, experts believe the USD-INR can remain rangebound between 75.80 and 76.40 on spot.

Gold settled on a weaker note in the international markets in the previous session on April 15 after record gains in the dollar. The dollar index surged to two year highs and triggered profit taking in precious metals. Gold June futures contract settled at $1,972.50 per troy ounce, down by 0.61 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹2,061 crore on Wednesday and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases of ₹1,410.9 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

The Russia-Ukraine war which started on February 24 has deepened further. Media reports suggested a Russian ultimatum for the last remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol to surrender expires on Sunday, with Moscow poised for a major strategic victory in the southeastern port city.