Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on February 17, 2023

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday after unexpectedly strong inflation data and a drop in weekly jobless claims added to fears that the US Federal Reserve will keep raising interest rates to tame high prices. Selling on Wall Street accelerated late in the session. The S&P 500 declined 1.38% to end at 4,090.51 points. The Nasdaq declined 1.78% to 11,855.83 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.26% to 33,696.39 points.

Asia Pacific markets traded lower on Friday as investors digested more economic data out of the U.S. and more hawkish commentary from the Federal Reserve. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 opened 0.54% lower, after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe warned of inflation risks to Australia if it was not brought down sufficiently. In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.53% while in Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened 0.59% lower and the Topix lost 0.51%.

Indian shares closed higher on Thursday, helped by information technology stocks, as robust U.S. retail sales data underscored the strength in the world's biggest economy and bolstered risk appetite.The Nifty 50 index closed 0.11% higher at 18.035.85, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.07% to 61,319.51.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 99 points or 0.55 percent lower at 17,968, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets. 

Oil prices settled slightly lower on Thursday after trading in a narrow range as the market weighed mixed US economic signals and prospects for a Chinese demand recovery with a build in U.S. crude stockpiles.Brent crude futures settled at $85.14 a barrel, losing 24 cents. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled at $78.49 a barrel, shedding 10 cents.

Two Federal Reserve officials said on Thursday the US central bank likely should have lifted interest rates more than it did early this month, and warned that additional hikes in borrowing costs are essential to lower inflation back to desired levels. The Fed has come an appreciable way in bringing policy from a very accommodative stance to a restrictive one, but I believe we have more work to do, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said in a virtual speech to a Global Interdependence Center conference.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth ₹1,570.62 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased shares worth ₹1,577.27 crore on February 16, NSE’s provisional data showed.

The rupee rose 9 paise to close at 82.72 against the US currency on Thursday amid unabated foreign fund inflow and positive trend in domestic equities.

Gold prices fell on Friday and were set for a weekly drop, as a firmer dollar and worries of more interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve clouded the outlook for non-yielding bullion, reported Reuters.