Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 16, 2023

US stocks pared losses late on Wednesday but the Dow and S&P 500 still closed lower, as problems at Credit Suisse revived fears of a banking crisis, eclipsing bets on a smaller US rate hike this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 280.83 points, or 0.87 percent, to 31,874.57, the S&P 500 lost 27.36 points, or 0.70 percent, to 3,891.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to 11,434.05.

Asian stocks tumbled on Thursday, and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar as fear of a banking crisis was reignited by fresh troubles at Credit Suisse, leaving markets on edge ahead of a European Central Bank meeting later in the day. Japan's Nikkei fell 2 percent in early trade. Australian shares slumped 2 percent as well, led by losses for banking stocks, while miners dropped heavily too as the specter of worldwide banking stress has traders getting out of all kinds of growth-sensitive assets.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 33 points or 0.2 percent higher at 17,007, indicating a positive opening for the Indian market. 

Domestic equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty fell for the fifth consecutive session on March 15 amid mixed global cues as concerns over Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse and rate hikes linger. Sensex opened 368 points higher at 58,268.54 and rose about 573 points to hit an intraday high of 58,473.63 before settling 344 points, or 0.59 percent lower at 57,555.90. Nifty50 closed the day at 16,972.15, down 71 points, or 0.42 percent.

Oil prices plunged by nearly 5 percent on Wednesday to settle at the lowest levels in more than a year on concerns that a crisis of confidence in the banking sector could trigger a recession and cut demand. Crude recovered some of its earlier losses along with benchmark equity indexes after Swiss regulators pledged a liquidity lifeline to Credit Suisse, which had earlier seen shares fall as much as 30 percent. Both crude benchmarks hit their lowest levels since December 2021 and have fallen for three straight days. Brent crude settled down $3.76, or 4.9 percent lower, at $73.69 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) closed down $3.72, or 5.2 percent lower, at $67.61.

Goldman Sachs on Wednesday lowered its forecast for fourth-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) growth, citing risks to the lending environment as smaller banks pull back on loans to preserve liquidity in the face of a banking crisis. Analysts at the firm now expect year-over-year growth of 1.2 percent for the quarter, down 0.3 percentage points from their previous estimate. Goldman Sachs said stress at some banks persists despite federal agencies having acted aggressively to bolster the financial system.

The rupee declined by 28 paise to 82.65 against the US dollar on Wednesday amid a strong greenback against major currencies overseas and unabated foreign fund outflows.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹1,271.25 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹1,823.94 crore on March 15, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.

Gold prices edged higher on Thursday as troubles at Swiss lender Credit Suisse renewed fears of a banking crisis worldwide and steered traders towards the safe-haven metal, reported Reuters.