Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 17, 2023

A strong rebound by financials helped Wall Street's main indexes close firmly positive on Thursday, after some of the country's largest lenders came to the rescue of embattled First Republic Bank. The technology sector also contributed to the gains, helping to boost the Nasdaq Composite to its strongest performance since February 2, 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 371.98 points, or 1.17%, to 32,246.55, the S&P 500 gained 68.35 points, or 1.76%, to 3,960.28 and the Nasdaq Composite added 283.23 points, or 2.48%, to 11,717.28.

Asia-Pacific markets were higher Friday after major Wall Street banks came to the rescue of embattled First Republic Bank in an attempt to bolster confidence in the banking system. Japanese markets were higher with the Nikkei 225 up 0.88% and the Topix 0.94% higher. South Korea’s Kospi was also up 0.91%, while the Kosdaq saw a smaller gain at 0.7%.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 118 points or 0.7 percent higher at 17,140, indicating a gap up opening for the Indian markets. 

Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty managed to end in the green on March 16 after five consecutive sessions of losses, tracking mixed global cues. Equity barometer Sensex traded volatile throughout the session as concerns over a widespread banking crisis mounted. Sensex closed 79 points, or 0.14 percent higher at 57,634.84 while the Nifty closed at 16,985.60, up 13 points, or 0.08 percent.

Oil prices settled 1% higher on Thursday, ending a three-session losing streak, after reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia met to discuss ways to enhance market stability. Brent crude futures rose $1.37, or 1%, to settle at $74.70 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) gained 74 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $68.35 a barrel.

With the bulk of relevant economic data now in hand ahead of their policy meeting next week, US central bankers are seen pressing on with their inflation-fighting campaign with a quarter-point interest-rate hike that just days ago looked possibly derailed by turmoil in the banking sector. After the ECB's 50-basis point hike and signs the banking crisis is abating, traders of US rate futures firmed up bets on Thursday that the Fed will raise interest rates by 25 basis points next week, and slashed the probability of a pause to about one chance in five.

The rupee fell for the fourth day in a row on Thursday and depreciated by 11 paise to 82.76 against the US dollar amid mixed global equity market cues and foreign fund outflows.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹282.06 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹2,051.45 crore on March 16, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.

Gold prices ticked up on Friday and were on course for a third consecutive weekly rise as the global banking crisis sent investors flocking to the safe-haven metal, reported Reuters.