Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on April 19, 2022

Wall Street ended the day lower in a choppy trading day on Monday, while US Treasury yields jumped as investors juggled strong earnings with what Russia's invasion of Ukraine could mean for global growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.11 percent, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.02 percent and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.14 percent.

Shares in Asia-Pacific edged higher in Tuesday morning trade, as investors watched for market reaction to China’s central bank announcing financial support for COVID-hit sectors. The Nikkei 225 in Japan jumped 1.11 percent in early trade while the Topix index gained 0.99 percent. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.72 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.22 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.13 percent higher.

The Indian market remained under pressure for the fourth consecutive session on April 18 on the back of uninspiring quarterly earnings, elevated geopolitical tensions and soaring inflation. Sensex closed 1,172 points, or 2.01 percent, lower at 57,166.74 with 20 stocks in the red while the Nifty lost 302 points, or 1.73 percent, to settle at 17,173.65.

Oil prices rose more than one percent on Monday, with Brent crude topping $114 a barrel, as outages in Libya deepened concern over tight global supply amid the Ukraine crisis. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose $1.46 or 1.3 percent to settle at $113.16 a barrel. The contract rose to $114.84 a barrel, its highest since March 28. US West Texas Intermediate rose $1.26 or 1.2 percent to settle at $108.21 a barrel. The benchmark hit $109.81 a barrel, also the highest since March 28.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 36 points or 0.2 percent higher at 17,251, indicating a flat-to-positive opening for the Indian markets.

The rupee ended 9 paise lower at 76.27 per dollar in the previous session on April 18 amid rise in US treasury yields. Sharp selloff in the equity market also weighed on the health of the domestic unit.

Gold extended its gain on April 18 in the international markets amid gains in global energy prices and fear of higher inflation. Gold June futures contract settled at $1986.40 per troy ounce with a gain of 0.70 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹6,387.5 crore on Monday -- the biggest single-day outflow since March 8 -- though domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases of ₹3,342 crore, according to provisional exchange data.

The Ukraine war is escalating further. As per a Reuters report, Ukraine said Russia had started an anticipated new offensive in the east of the country, with explosions reported all along the front lines as well as attacks in other regions.