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

US stocks declined broadly while oil prices and Treasury yields pushed higher on Monday as investors refocused on risks from conflict in Ukraine and the US Federal Reserve's actions on inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 201.94 points, or 0.58%, to 34,552.99, the S&P 500 lost 1.94 points, or 0.04%, to 4,461.18 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 55.38 points, or 0.4%, to 13,838.46.

Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday morning trade, though shares of China Eastern Airlines in Hong Kong fell after the carrier’s Boeing 737 passenger jet crashed in southern China on Monday. Japanese stocks led gains regionally, with the Nikkei 225 jumping 1.56% while the Topix index climbed 1.31%. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed, as the Shanghai composite sat fractionally higher while the Shenzhen component dipped 0.449%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.7%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.17%.

Uncertainties over the ongoing Ukraine war along with concerns over Chinese restrictions to curb the fresh spread of Covid-19 punctured market sentiment as the key equity indices the Sensex and the Nifty ended a percent lower on March 21, breaking a two-day winning run. Sensex closed 571 points, or 0.99 percent, lower at 57,292.49 while the Nifty finished at 17,117.60, down 169 points, or 0.98 percent.

Oil surged for a fourth day, heading for the best run in a month, on signs the European Union may be edging closer to a ban on Russian crude imports to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures were up 1.97 percent to $114.33 a barrel and Brent futures were up 2.26 percent to $118.23 a barrel.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 21 points or 0.12 percent higher at 17,189, indicating a flat-to-positive opening for the Indian markets.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded Indian shares worth a net ₹2,962.1 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases of ₹252.9 crore.

Media reports are suggesting that Russia's attacks on Ukraine has intensified. As per a Reuters report, Ukraine on March 21 said it would not obey ultimatums from Russia after Moscow demanded it stop defending besieged Mariupol. Mariupol has become a focal point of Russia's assault on Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has insisted on meeting with his Russian counterpart and said that it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war without meeting Vladimir Putin.

Gold prices climbed on March 21. The precious metal took support from the weakness in the global equity markets due to Russia-Ukraine war and rising coronavirus cases. Gold April futures contract settled at $1929.50 per troy ounce with a gain of 0.41 percent and silver May futures contract settled at $25.31 per troy ounce with a gain of 0.73 percent.

The Indian rupee slumped 32 paise to close at 76.13 on March 21 as crude oil prices jumped. Weakness in Indian equities also weighed on the domestic unit. Sensex closed 571 points, or 0.99 percent, lower at 57,292.49 while the Nifty finished at 17,117.60, down 169 points, or 0.98 percent in the previous session.