Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 10, 2023

Wall Street's three major stock indices closed lower on Thursday, with bank stocks creating the biggest drag, while investors also worried that Friday's jobs report could spur more aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 543.54 points, or 1.66 percent, to 32,254.86, the S&P 500 lost 73.69 points, or 1.85 percent, to 3,918.32 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 237.65 points, or 2.05 percent, to 11,338.36.

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific fell on Friday, as investors await the closely watched February non-farm payrolls report from the US that could further determine the direction on the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes ahead. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 tumbled 1.61 percent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 1.04 percent. The Nikkei 225 in Japan shed 1.22 percent and the Topix lost 1.2 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 162 points or 0.92 percent lower at 17,455, indicating a gap down opening for the Indian markets. 

Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 540 points on Thursday, pressured by heavy selling in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank amid a sluggish trend in the global markets. Besides, a weak rupee against major currencies overseas further weighed on sentiment, traders said. Snapping its three-day gaining streak, the 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong but came under severe selling pressure to close 541.81 points or 0.90 percent lower at 59,806.28. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 164.80 points or 0.93 percent to 17,589.60.

Oil prices slid about 1 percent to a two-week low on Thursday on increased worries the US Federal Reserve may go too far with its interest rate hikes to control inflation, which could cause a recession and reduce future oil demand. Brent futures fell $1.07, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $81.59 a barrel, their lowest close since February 22. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 94 cents, or 1.2 percent, to settle at $75.72, their lowest close since February 27.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased by the most in five months last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a tight labour market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended March 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the largest increase since October and lifted claims to a two-month high.

The Indian rupee strengthened against the U.S. currency on Thursday, with traders citing inflows, but the Reserve Bank of India’s likely intervention capped further gains and brought the local unit closer to 82 per dollar. The rupee finished at 81.9750 per dollar, against its previous close of 82.055.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹561.78 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹42.41 crore on March 9, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.

Gold jumped on Thursday as the dollar retreated, after data showed US jobless claims grew more than expected last week, providing some hope to investors that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes could be less aggressive than feared. Spot gold climbed 1.1 percent to $1,830.35 per ounce, as of 15:13 GMT. US gold futures rose 1 percent to $1,836.70.