Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 15, 2023

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Friday, led by weaker megacap shares following their recent rally, as data showed U.S. consumer sentiment dropped to a six-month low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 8.89 points lower, or 0.03 percent, to close at 33,300.62. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.35 percent, ending the day at 12,284.74. The S&P 500 slipped 0.16 percent, closing at 4,124.08.

Asian stocks started cautiously on Monday as investors braced for a China policy rate decision and economic data this week, while awaiting a host of U.S. Federal Reserve officials to speak to vindicate market pricing of rate cuts this year. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.16% lower, while Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend with a gain of 0.5%, building on the optimism from last week during the earnings season.  Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set for a lower open, with contracts tied to the index at 19,421 compared to the HSI’s last close of 19,627.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 42 points or 0.23 percent lower at 18,281, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets. 

Indian shares reversed intraday losses and extended their winning streak for a third week in a row on Friday, aided by financials and auto stocks, ahead of domestic retail inflation data. The Nifty 50 closed 0.10% higher at 18,314.80, while the S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.20% to 62,027.90. Both benchmarks logged weekly gains of more than 1%.

Oil prices settled more than 1 percent lower on Friday, falling for the third consecutive week, as the market balanced supply fears against renewed economic concerns in the United States and China. Brent crude futures settled down 81 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $74.17 while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude futures fell 83 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $70.04. Both benchmarks settled about 1.5 percent lower week on week.

India's annual retail inflation eased to a 19-month low of 4.7% in April from 5.66% the previous month, mainly on lower food prices, government data showed on Friday.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) bought shares worth ₹1,014.06 crore, whereas domestic institutional investors (DII) sold shares worth ₹922.19 crore on May 12, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

Gold prices fell to a one-week low on Friday, and was lower for the week, weighed down by a stronger dollar and an uptick in U.S. bond yields. Spot gold was last 0.24 percent lower at $2,010.84 per ounce, after falling as much as 0.7 percent earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $2,016.40.

Falling for the second straight session, the rupee depreciated by 9 paise to settle at 82.18 against the US dollar on Friday, as a strong greenback overseas weighed on investor sentiments.