Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on July 27, 2022

US stocks ended sharply lower Tuesday as a profit warning by Walmart dragged down retail shares and exceptionally weak consumer confidence data also fueled fears about spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228.5 points, or 0.71%, to 31,761.54, the S&P 500 lost 45.79 points, or 1.15%, to 3,921.05, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 220.09 points, or 1.87%, to 11,562.58.

Asia-Pacific shares traded mixed on Wednesday ahead of Australia’s inflation report and with investors looking forward to the US Fed’s policy decision. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.19%, while the Topix index declined 0.1%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.23%. South Korea’s Kospi recovered from slight losses to rise fractionally. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was about flat.

Domestic equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended about a percent lower on July 26, extending the losing run into the second consecutive session as investors remained cautious ahead of a widely expected 75 bps rate hike by the US Fed. Sensex suffered a loss of 498 points, or 0.89%, on July 26 to end at 55,268.49 while the Nifty closed 147 points, or 0.88%, lower at 16,483.85.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 16 points or 0.10 percent lower at 16,462, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stockpiles. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose 67 cents, or 0.7%, to $95.65 a barrel by 0009 GMT. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 33 cents, or 0.3%, to $104.73 a barrel.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India for the current financial year by 80 basis points to 7.4 percent. A similar downgrade has been made to the growth forecast for FY24, which now stands at 6.1 percent as against 6.9 percent earlier. "For India, the revision reflects mainly less favorable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening," the IMF said on July 26 in an update to its World Economic Outlook report.

The rupee ended 3 paise lower at 79.77 in the previous session amid rising crude oil prices. Weakness in the domestic equity market also weighed on the currency.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth ₹1,548.29 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth ₹999.36 crore on July 26, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Gold prices saw an uptick on Wednesday, as the dollar weakened slightly. Besides, concerns over economy also supported the yellow metal as investors braced for an anticipated 75 bps hike by the US Fed.