Before Market Opens: From Taiwan tensions to oil price crash; 9 things to know at 9 am on August 5, 2022

Wall Street stocks ended mixed, with gains for high-growth stocks offset by the drag from energy shares, as a key US jobs report loomed on Friday. The S&P 500 edged slightly lower to 4,151.94, retreating from a two-month closing high in the previous session. The Dow dropped 0.26% to 32,726.82, from near an almost three-month high on Wednesday. The Nasdaq, though, swung to a 0.44% gain to 13,311.041 from steep early losses, extending a three-month peak.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were flat Friday as China conducts military exercises around Taiwan. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index in Japan were fractionally higher. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sat just below the flatline. In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.52% and the Kosdaq gained 0.45%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.19%.

Equity barometer Sensex ended in the red after six consecutive sessions of gains on August 4, dragged by losses in energy and financial heavyweights. It ended just 52 points, or 0.09%, lower at 58,298.80 with 16 stocks in the green and 14 stocks in the red. Nifty closed with a nominal loss of 6 points, or 0.04%, thanks to positive global cues.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 66 points or 0.38 percent higher at 17,463, indicating a positive opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices extended losses on Friday, after hitting their lowest since before Russia's February invasion of Ukraine in the previous session, as the market fretted over the impact of inflation on global economic growth and demand. Brent crude dropped 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $94.02 a barrel by 0047 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $88.48 a barrel, down 6 cents.

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to announce its monetary policy decision later today. The rate-setting panel began its three-day deliberations on Wednesday for the next bi-monthly monetary policy amid expectations of at least a 35-basis-point hike in the interest rate to check high retail inflation. It is likely to be the third consecutive hike in the repo rate or short-term lending rate in the last three months. 

Gold prices firmed on August 5 to hover near a one-month high, as a retreat in dollar and US Treasury yields and growing recession fears boosted demand, keeping the safe-haven metal on track for its third straight weekly rise, reported news agency Reuters.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth ₹1,474.77 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth ₹46.79 crore on August 4, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

The rupee fell 31 paise to close at 79.47 amid concerns over the widening trade deficit. Meanwhile, the dollar slipped in trade on August 8 ahead of the US jobs data.