Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 23, 2022

Treasury yields marched higher on Tuesday, bringing US stocks with them, as investors digested the increased likelihood of swift interest rate hikes following hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq led Wall Street's main indexes higher, rising nearly 2%, as investors bought the dip in technology stocks, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet Inc. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 254.87 points, or 0.74%, to 34,807.86 and the S&P 500 gained 50.63 points, or 1.13%, to 4,511.81.

Shares in Japan led gains in Asia-Pacific during Wednesday morning trade, as investors monitored oil prices and continued to assess the outlook for U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy. The Nikkei 225 rose 2.59% as shares of SoftBank Group jumped 8.03%. The Topix index advanced 1.98%.

Oil edged lower on Tuesday after it looked unlikely that European Union nations would agree to join the United States in a Russian oil embargo in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. Brent crude fell 14 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $115.48 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended 36 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $111.76. On Monday, both contracts had settled up more than 7% on the potential EU ban.

The domestic market resumed its upward march on March 22 amid mixed global cues even as the Ukraine war continued without any signs of an end. The 30-share pack Sensex closed 697 points, or 1.22 percent, higher at 57,989.30 while the Nifty50 ended at 17,315.50, up 198 points, or 1.16 percent.

Petrol and diesel prices were raised by around 80 paise a litre for the second straight day on March 23. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased the petrol retail price by 75 paise a litre and diesel by 76 paise. In two days, the price of retail fuel rates have gone up by close to ₹1.80 a litre each.

Gold prices fell over 1 percent to a near one-week low on March 22 as Treasury yields jumped after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at big rate hikes this year to fight against soaring inflation.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought Indian shares worth ₹384.5 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net sold equities worth ₹602.1 crore.

The Russia-Ukraine war which started on February 24 still continues amid attempts of talks between the two warring countries. As per a Reuters report, talks between Ukraine and Russia are confrontational but moving forward, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on March 23, as the West plans to announce more sanctions against the Kremlin amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

The rupee shed 5 paise to settle lower at 76.18 against the US dollar on March 22 as crude oil prices rose to $115 a barrel. The fall in rupee was capped by gains in equities and FPI buying.