Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on July 21, 2022

US stocks ended higher on Wednesday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq booking a 1.6 percent gain on positive earnings signals with a wary eye on inflation and more interest rate hikes by the Fed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.79 points, or 0.15 percent, to 31,874.84, the S&P 500 gained 23.21 points, or 0.59 percent, to 3,959.9 and the Nasdaq Composite added 184.50 points, or 1.58 percent, to 11,897.65.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday as investors look ahead to the Bank of Japan rate decision. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was about flat. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Japan declined 0.31 percent, while the Topix index lost 0.38 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 23 points or 0.14 percent higher at 16,520, indicating a positive opening for the Indian markets.

Indian indices rose over 1 percent on Wednesday led by gains in IT, oil & gas and metal shares amid positive global market trends. Sensex rallied 629.91 points or 1.15 percent to settle at 55,397.53 while NSE Nifty climbed 180.30 points or 1.10 percent to end at 16,520.85.

Oil slipped back below $100 a barrel as investors assessed signs of lackluster US gasoline demand and expanding stockpiles. West Texas Intermediate for September retreated again in Asian trading after ending almost 1 percent lower on Wednesday. A US government report showed that stockpiles of the fuel rose more than expected last week, while a four-week rolling average shows high prices crimped consumption to only just above the same time two years ago, and below every other year since 2000.

The US Federal Reserve will opt for another 75 basis point rate hike rather than a larger move at its meeting next week to quell stubbornly-high inflation as the likelihood of a recession over the next year rises to 40 percent, a Reuters poll of economists found. The July 14-20 Reuters poll found 98 of 102 economists expect the Fed to hike rates by 75 basis points at the end of the July 26-27 meeting to 2.25-2.50 percent. The remaining four said they expected a 100 basis point hike.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net purchased shares worth ₹1,780.94 crore, continuing buying for third consecutive session, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth ₹230.22 crore on July 20, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

The rupee ended 4 paise lower at 79.99 per dollar in the previous session on July 20. Gains in domestic equities capped the losses of the rupee while forex traders believe RBI's intervention also supported rupee.

Gold prices fell on Thursday to their lowest in nearly a year, as an elevated US dollar and prospects of more interest rate hikes by major central banks to combat soaring inflation weighed on bullion's appeal, reported news agency Reuters.