Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on July 22, 2022

Wall Street's main indices rose on Thursday boosted by a late-afternoon rally and gains in heavyweight growth stocks, including Tesla. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.4 percent to lead the gains while the S&P 500 closed at its highest level since June 9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162.06 points, or 0.51 percent, to 32,036.9, the S&P 500 gained 39.05 points, or 0.99 percent, to 3,998.95 and the Nasdaq Composite added 161.96 points, or 1.36 percent, to 12,059.61.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific fell Friday as investors digest Japan’s inflation data. The Nikkei 225 declined 0.36% and the Topix index slipped 0.36 percent. South Korea’s Kospi was fractionally lower. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.12 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan sat just above the flatline.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 9 points or 0.05 percent higher at 16,626, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets.

Indian indices ended higher for the fifth straight session on Thursday led by gains in financial and IT stocks amid a mixed trend in global equities. The BSE Sensex rose 284.42 points or 0.51 percent to settle at 55,681.95 while the broader Nifty ended 84.40 points or 0.51 percent higher at 16,605.25.

Oil prices were roughly unchanged in early trading on Friday after sliding around 3% in the previous session on weakened demand in the United States, the world's top oil consumer, and a pick-up in supply from Libya. Brent crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $104.03 a barrel at 0041 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were flat at $96.35 a barrel. WTI has been pummelled over the past two sessions after data showed that U.S. gasoline demand had dropped nearly 8% from a year earlier in the midst of the peak summer driving season, hit by record prices at the pump.

The ECB raised its benchmark deposit rate by 50 basis points to zero percent, breaking its own guidance for a 25 basis point move as it joined global peers in jacking up borrowing costs. It was the euro zone central bank's first rate hike for 11 years. Ending an eight-year experiment with negative interest rates, the ECB also increased its main refinancing rate to 0.50 percent and promised further rate hikes possibly as soon as its next meeting on September 8.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net purchased shares worth ₹1,799.32 crore, continuing buying for the fourth consecutive session, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold shares worth ₹312.29 crore on July 21, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

The rupee ended 4 paise higher at 79.95 in the previous session on July 21 amid the dollar's weakness and gains in the equity market. Analysts expect the rupee to remain in the range of 79.75-80.20 in the near term.

Gold prices were lacklustre in the international markets as hopes that the US Fed may not go for an aggressive rate hike in its policy meet next week. However, sombre economic outlook supported the yellow metal, capping the downside.