Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on February 27, 2023

Wall Street's main indices posted their biggest weekly drop of 2023 after sharp losses on Friday, as investors braced for the possibility of more aggressive rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve as US economic data pointed to resilient consumers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 336.99 points, or 1.02 percent, to 32,816.92, the S&P 500 lost 42.28 points, or 1.05 percent, to 3,970.04 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 195.46 points, or 1.69 percent, to 11,394.94.

Asian shares slipped on Monday as markets were forced to price in ever-loftier peaks for US and European interest rates, slugging bonds globally and pushing the dollar to multi-week highs. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.5 percent, having shed 2.6 percent last week. Japan's Nikkei eased by 0.4 percent and South Korea 0.9 percent.

Domestic equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended in the red, extending losses into the sixth consecutive session on Friday on lingering concerns over rate hikes, economic slowdown and geopolitical tensions. In the last six sessions of trade, Sensex and Nifty have fallen 3 percent each. Sensex closed 142 points, or 0.24 percent, lower at 59,463.93. Nifty50 closed the day at 17,465.80, down 45 points, or 0.26 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 20 points or 0.11 percent lower at 17,522, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets. 

Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel as rising inventories in the United States and concerns over global economic activity offset the prospect of lower Russian exports. Brent crude futures were down 57 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $81.64 a barrel by 1423 GMT, having risen by more than $1 earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate US crude futures (WTI) were down 69 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $74.70.

US consumer spending increased by the most in nearly two years in January amid a surge in wage gains, while inflation accelerated, adding to financial market fears that the Federal Reserve could continue raising interest rates into summer. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, shot up 1.8 percent last month. That was the largest increase since March 2021. Data for December was revised higher to show spending dipping 0.1 percent instead of falling 0.2 percent as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rebounding 1.3 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹1,470.34 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹1,400.98 crore on February 24, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.

The rupee ended flat at 82.75 per dollar in the previous session despite weakness in domestic markets and selling pressure by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Meanwhile, the dollar eased slightly on Monday.

Gold prices edged up on Monday as the dollar eased, but hovered near their lowest levels since late December after US economic data last week raised worries that the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates further, reported Reuters. Data on Friday showed consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, shot up 1.8 percent last month - the largest increase since March 2021.