Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on July 19, 2022

Wall Street ended lower on Monday after bank stocks erased earlier gains and Apple shares fell on a report saying the company plans to slow hiring and spending growth next year. After posting solid gains to start the session following earnings from Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, the S&P financial sector weakened into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 215.65 points, or 0.69 percent, to 31,072.61, the S&P 500 lost 32.31 points, or 0.84 percent, to 3,830.85 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 92.37 points, or 0.81 percent, to 11,360.05.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific were mostly lower Tuesday after a positive start to the week, and as investors digested Australia’s central bank’s meeting minutes. Japanese markets returned to trade Tuesday after a holiday on Monday, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.83 percent, while the Topix index climbed 0.67 percent. The Kospi in South Korea shed 0.22 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was slightly below the flat line.

Indian markets ended over 1 percent higher on Monday following massive buying in IT, oil and gas and banking shares bolstered by firm global trends. Rising for a second straight session, Sensex rallied 760.37 points or 1.41 percent to settle at 54,521.15. The broader NSE Nifty advanced 229.30 points or 1.43 percent to end at 16,278.50.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 109 points or 0.67 percent lower at 16,181, indicating a gap-down opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices fell on Tuesday, taking a breather after surging more than $5 a barrel in the previous session as a plunging dollar supported buying interest and on expectations the US Federal Reserve's interest rate hike may be less than thought. Brent crude futures for September settlement fell 69 cents to $105.58 a barrel by 0036 GMT. The contract rose 5.1 percent on Monday, the biggest percentage gain since April 12. WTI crude futures for August delivery fell 65 cents to $101.95 a barrel. The contract climbed 5.1% on Monday and the largest percentage gain since May 11.

Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Life Insurance Company, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, Ambuja Cements, L&T Finance, Polycab India, AU Small Finance Bank, Rallis India, Steel Strips Wheels are some stocks that will announce their June quarter earings today.

The rupee ended 10 paise lower at 79.98 per dollar in the previous session on July 18. Meanwhile, as reported by Reuters, dollar slipped to a one-week low against a basket of currencies on Monday, from the two-decade high hit last week, as traders pared bets on how aggressive the Federal Reserve would be in raising rates at its meeting later this month.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth ₹156.08 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth ₹844.33 crore on July 18, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Gold saw some gains after the dollar eased against its major peers. Besides, talks that the upbeat US retail sales data may make the US Fed rethink on its agressive rate hike stance also supported the bullion.