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

Wall Street closed sharply higher on Monday as investors awaited inflation data likely to hint at the path of the Federal Reserve's future interest rate hikes, while Meta Platforms gained after a report that the Facebook parent was planning fresh layoffs. The S&P 500 climbed 1.15 percent to end the session at 4,137.32 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.48 percent to 11,891.79 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.11 percent to 34,246.13 points.

Asia-Pacific shares are to trade higher as investors await the release of the US consumer price index report, which will shape the Federal Reserve’s path ahead. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.52 percent in its first hour of trade. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.86 percent and the Topix climbed 0.9 percent. South Korea’s Kospi started the day 1 percent higher, while the Kosdaq also gained 0.78 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 17 points or 0.1 percent higher at 17,806, indicating a flat but positive opening for the Indian markets. 

Domestic market benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended lower for the second consecutive session on February 13 as investors' risk appetite remained low amid lingering concerns over inflation, rate hikes and global economic slowdown. Sensex ended 251 points, or 0.41 percent, lower at 60,431.84 while the Nifty50 closed at 17,770.90, down 86 points, or 0.48 percent.

Oil prices edged higher on Monday, rebounding from early losses, as investors weighed Russia's plans to cut crude production and short-term demand concerns ahead of US inflation data this week. Brent futures for April delivery rose 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $86.61 a barrel, while US crude rose 42 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $80.14 per barrel gain.

India's headline retail inflation rate jumped to a three-month high of 6.52 percent in January from December's one-year low of 5.72 percent, data released on February 13 by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. At 6.52 percent, the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation print is significantly above the consensus estimate. Retail inflation has returned to 6 percent-plus territory after a two-month break. As for the medium-term target of 4 percent, CPI inflation has now been above it for 40 months in a row.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth ₹1,322.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased shares worth ₹521.69 crore on February 13, NSE's provisional data showed.

The rupee fell 22 paise to close at 82.73 per dollar in the previous session as the dollar moved toward a five-week high. Weakness in the equity market also weighed on the domestic currency.

Gold prices inched up on Tuesday as the dollar pulled back, with investors bracing for US inflation data to gauge its influence on the Federal Reserve's policy path. The Fed will need to continue to raise interest rates to get them to a level high enough to bring inflation back down to the central bank's target rate, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said on Monday, reported Reuters.