Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on August 14, 2023

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower on Friday, with both recording a second straight weekly decline, as hotter-than-expected U.S. producer prices data pushed Treasury yields higher and sank rate-sensitive megacap growth stocks. It was the first time this year that the Nasdaq notched two weekly losses in a row. S&P 500 lost 0.10%, Nasdaq Composite lost 0.54% and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.30% on Friday.

Asian shares struggled on Monday ahead of China data that is likely to amplify the case for serious stimulus even as Beijing seems deaf to the calls, while rising Treasury yields lifted the dollar to a 2023 peak on the embattled yen. Geopolitics was an added worry after a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea, heralding a new war stage that could impact oil and food prices. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased another 1.1%, after shedding 2% last week. Japan's Nikkei was off 0.5%, even as exporters drew support from the weak yen. Chinese blue chips lost 1.1%, on top of a 3.4% decline last week.

At 8:20 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading 53 points or 0.27 percent lower at 19,426, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets. 

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined for a second straight day on Friday due to losses in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank and a negative trend in Asian and European markets. The trend in the domestic market remained weak post the RBI monetary policy and the unexpected announcement of reducing cash in the banking system. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 365.53 points or 0.56 percent to settle at 65,322.65. During the day, it tanked 413.57 points or 0.62 percent to 65,274.61. The NSE Nifty declined by 114.80 points or 0.59 percent to end at 19,428.30.

Oil prices edged higher on Friday after the International Energy Agency forecast record global demand and tightening supplies, propelling prices to the seventh straight week of gains, the longest such streak since 2022. Brent crude futures rose 19 cents, or 0.22 percent, to settle $86.59 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 22 cents, or 0.27 percent, to settle at $83.05. On a weekly basis, both benchmarks rose about 0.5 percent. The IEA estimated that global oil demand hit a record 103 million barrels per day in June and could scale another peak this month.

The combined market valuation of seven of the top 10 valued firms declined by ₹74,603.06 crore last week, with HDFC Bank emerging as the biggest laggard. The BSE benchmark declined 398.6 points or 0.60 percent last week. ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and ITC saw erosion in their market valuation while Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and State Bank of India added to their market valuation. The valuation of HDFC Bank declined by ₹25,011 crore to ₹12,22,392.26 crore.

The rupee depreciated by 8 paise to 82.74 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, tracking a firm dollar against major rivals overseas.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹3,073.28 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased ₹500.35 crore worth of stocks on August 11, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

Gold prices on Friday were on track for their worst week in seven, hurt by an overall stronger dollar and elevated bond yields as investors digested the latest US inflation numbers and awaited for more economic data later in the day. Spot gold rose just 0.05 percent to $1,912.9246 per ounce by 4:40 pm ET, after touching its lowest level since July 7 earlier.