Before Market Opens: From US market fall to gold prices; 9 things to know at 9 am on December 23, 2022

Wall Street's major averages closed lower on Thursday with technology-heavy Nasdaq's 2 percent drop leading losses as investors worried that data showing a resilient economy would lead the US Federal Reserve to keep hiking interest rates for longer than feared. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 348.99 points, or 1.05 percent, to 33,027.49, the S&P 500 lost 56.05 points, or 1.45 percent, to 3,822.39 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 233.25 points, or 2.18 percent, to 10,476.12.

Asia-Pacific shares traded lower, taking the lead from losses on Wall Street while investors also looked ahead to some economic data in the region. Japan’s core consumer price index at 3.7 percent in November on an annualized basis, marking the fastest pace since December 1981.The Nikkei 225 fell 1.28 percent and the Topix fell 0.76 percent. The Japanese yen stood at 132.62 against the U.S. dollar. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.06 percent and South Korea’s Kospi also fell 1.74 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 1.36 percent in its first hour of trade. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.33 percent and the Shenzhen Component was down 0.34 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 92 points or 0.5 percent lower at 18,085, indicating a gap down opening for the Indian markets. 

The Sensex closed 241 points, or 0.39 percent, lower at 60,826.22 while the Nifty ended the day at 18,127.35, down 72 points, or 0.39 percent.Mid and smallcaps underperformed as the BSE Midcap index fell 0.77 percent while the Smallcap index dropped 1.83 percent.

Oil fell by around $1 a barrel on Thursday in volatile trade as the impact of tighter US crude stocks due to a winter storm in the United States was outweighed by fears that Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and China’s rising Covid-19 cases would dent demand. Brent crude futures settled at $80.98 a barrel, losing $1.22, while 1.5 percent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $77.49, falling by 80 cents, or 1 percent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 22 chaired a high-level meeting to assess the Covid-19 situation in the country, the preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, the status of the vaccination campaign, and the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and their public health implications for the country. At the Covid-19 review meet, a comprehensive presentation was made regarding the global coronavirus situation including the rising cases in countries by Secretary, Health and Member, NITI Aayog.

Spot gold gained 0.41 percent to $1,802.70 per ounce as of 8:40 am on Friday.

The rupee appreciated by 5 paise to close at 82.79 against the US dollar on Thursday amid a weak greenback in the overseas markets.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought shares worth ₹928.63 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth ₹2,206.59 crore on December 22, as per provisional data available on the NSE.