Before Market Opens: From Bank of Japan to oil prices; 9 things to know at 9 am on December 21, 2022

Wall Street closed slightly higher on Tuesday after four sessions of declines, but investors fretted about weak holiday shopping and rising bond yields added pressure after the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) surprise tweak of monetary policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 92.2 points, or 0.28 percent, to 32,849.74, the S&P 500 gained 3.96 points, or 0.10 percent, to 3,821.62 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.08 points, or 0.01 percent, to 10,547.11.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific traded mixed after Wall Street ended its four-day losing streak as global bonds rose after the Bank of Japan adjusted its yield curve control tolerance. Japan continued its second day of losses, as the Nikkei 225 fell 0.98 percent and the Topix lost 0.65 percent. The Kospi in South Korea erased earlier gains and was flat.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 79 points or 0.43 percent higher at 18,505, indicating a strong opening for the Indian markets. 

After clocking a healthy gain in the previous session, frontline indices the Sensex and the Nifty resumed their downward march on December 20 amid weak global cues. Sensex ended 104 points, or 0.17 percent, lower at 61,702.29 while the Nifty closed at 18,385.30, down 35 points, or 0.19 percent.

Oil prices ended mostly flat on Tuesday in a volatile session as a worsening outlook for a major US winter storm sparked fears that millions of Americans might curb travel plans during the holiday season.Brent crude futures settled up 19 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $79.99 per barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled flat at $75.19 per barrel.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) tweaked the present share buyback norms for listed companies and tightened disclosure rules in its bid to increase transparency and credibility of markets. Companies have to now use 75 percent of the proceeds of the buyback undertaken through the stock exchange route from the existing minimum of 50 percent. Buybacks will be undertaken through a separate window on stock exchanges till the time they are permitted through the exchanges, the regulator said.

The rupee slipped 5 paise to close at 82.75 in the previous session on December 20 amid weakness in equity markets. Meanwhile, the dollar index was flat after falling in the previous session while chatter around the rate hikes keeps investors nervous about riskier assets.

Gold prices steadied near a one-week high on December 21, after rising more than 1 percent in the previous session as the dollar weakened after the Bank of Japan's surprise policy tweak. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2 percent to 913.88 tonnes on December 20, reported news agency Reuters.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth ₹455.94 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth ₹494.74 crore on December 20, as per provisional data available on the NSE.