Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 23, 2023

Wall Street gyrated to end sharply lower on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25 basis point policy hike, while hinting that it was on the verge of pausing future increases in view of recent turmoil in the financial sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 530.49 points, or 1.63 percent, to 32,030.11, the S&P 500 lost 65.9 points, or 1.65 percent, to 3,936.97 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 190.15 points, or 1.6 percent, to 11,669.96.

Asian markets are trading mixed in the early trade on Thursday with Nikkei and Straits Times down 0.5 percent teach, while Hang Seng was up marginally.

The US Federal Reserve on March 22 announced a quarter point-hike in interest rates, refusing to lower guard on a persistently high inflation but assured markets battered by a banking crisis that it has enough firepower to avert a contagion. The Fed increased its fund's target rate to a range of 4.75-5 percent, a level last seen prior to the 2007-08 global financial crisis. The hike in rates, which came broadly on the expected lines, will further add to the cost of funds and refuel the risks of a potential recession that will have rippling effects not only in the world’s largest economy but elsewhere on the globe. The rate hike was necessitated by a sticky high inflation.

Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended in the green for the second consecutive day on March 22 amid positive global cues. Sensex closed with a gain of 140 points, or 0.24 percent, at 58,214.59 while the Nifty settled 44 points, or 0.26 percent, higher at 17,151.90. Mid and smallcaps also ended in the green. The BSE Midcap index closed 0.18 percent higher while the Smallcap index clocked a gain of 0.54 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 20 points or 0.12 percent lower at 17,138, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets. 

Oil prices fell on Thursday following three sessions of gains, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell re-stated his commitment to curbing inflation, including the possibility of more interest rate rises.Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1 percent, to $75.89 a barrel by 00:09 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) dropped 84 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $70.06. Both crude benchmarks had settled on Wednesday at their highest close since March 14.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) have turn net buyers for first time in last 10 straight sessions, buying shares worth ₹61.72 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased shares worth ₹383.51 crore on March 22, the National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed.

Gold prices edged higher on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by an expected 25 basis points and signalled it was on the verge of pausing future hikes in view of the recent turmoil in the financial sector, reported Reuters.

The currency market remained closed on Wednesday for the Gudi Padwa holiday.