Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on March 28, 2022

The S&P 500 ended higher on Friday as financial shares rose after the benchmark Treasury yield jumped to its highest level in nearly three years. The Nasdaq ended lower, and tech and other big growth names mostly declined, but they finished off session lows following a late-session rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153.3 points, or 0.44%, to 34,861.24, the S&P 500 gained 22.9 points, or 0.51%, to 4,543.06 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 22.54 points, or 0.16%, to 14,169.30.

Asian shares stalled and oil prices slid on Monday as coronavirus lockdown in Shanghai looked set to hit global activity, while throwing another wrench into supply chains that could add to inflationary pressures. Early action on Monday was muted with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan off 0.1%. The index is down 2.3% for the month but well above recent lows. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.4%, but is still almost 6% firmer for the month as a sinking yen promised to boost exporter earnings.

Headline indices the Sensex and the Nifty ended in the red for the third consecutive session on March 25 amid mixed global cues and concerns over-stretching Ukraine war. Elevated crude oil prices, concerns over inflation and the looming monetary policy normalisation also kept the mood of the market sombre. The 30-share pack closed 233 points, or 0.41 percent, lower at 57,362.20 while the Nifty settled with a loss of 70 points, or 0.40 percent, at 17,153.

Oil prices plunged about $4 on Monday as concerns over slower fuel demand in China grew after authorities in Shanghai said they would shut the country's financial hub for a COVID-19 testing blitz over nine days. Brent crude futures slid as low as $116.00 a barrel and were trading down $3.88, or 3.2%, at $116.77 at 0131 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit a low of $109.30 a barrel, and were down $3.92, or 3.4%, at $109.98.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 45 points or 0.25 percent higher at 17,261, indicating a positive opening for the Indian markets.

Provisional exchange data shows foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold Indian shares worth ₹1,507.4 crore on Friday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases of ₹1,373 crore.

The rupee rose 17 paise to end at 76.21 against the US dollar in the previous session on March 25, as per Bloomberg data. Rupee gained as crude oil prices eased slightly but the gains of the Indian unit was capped due to the weakness in Indian equity market.

Gold and silver settled on a weaker note in the international markets last Friday (March 25) after record gains in the US bond yield and strength in the dollar. The benchmark 10-year bond yields in the United States are moving closer to 2.50 percent and cap gains of precious metals. The dollar index also gained for the second straight week due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

PVR Cinemas and INOX Leisure are preparing to merge in what will be a mega consolidation of the two largest movie theatre chains in India, according to reports. Combined merged company will form a large company with over ₹16,000 crore market cap.