Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 17, 2022

The S&P 500 ended lower on Monday, with Tesla and other growth stocks losing ground after downbeat Chinese economic data added to worries about a global slowdown and rising interest rates. The S&P 500 declined 0.39 percent to end the session at 4,008.01 points. The Nasdaq declined 1.20 percent to 11,662.79 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.08 percent to 32,223.42 points.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday morning trade, with investors looking ahead to the release of meeting minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The Nikkei 225 in Japan slipped 0.13 percent in early trade while the Topix index hovered above the flatline. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.46 percent while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia traded 0.15 percent higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.25 percent higher.

The domestic market ended the losing streak of the last six consecutive sessions as investors picked stocks available at cheaper valuations after the recent correction. Sensex ended 180 points, or 0.34 percent, higher at 52,973.84 with 18 stocks in the green and 12 stocks in the red.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 16 points or 0.1 percent higher at 15,880, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is set to make its stock market debut after its mega IPO received an overwhelming response from retail investors. The government raised ₹21,000 crore by selling 3.5 percent of its holdings in the most extensive initial public offering (IPO) in the history of India's primary markets.

Oil prices opened lower in early Asian trade on Tuesday after the European Union's efforts to enact a ban on Russian oil imports, a move that would tighten global supply, ran into resistance from member country Hungary. Brent crude futures fell 35 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $113.89 a barrel at 0004 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 52 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $113.68 a barrel.

The rupee ended 38 paise lower at 77.83 per dollar on May 16 even as dollar and bond yields slipped. The dollar index slipped below 104.50 levels and benchmark 10-year bond yields in the U.S. also slipped below 2.90 percent.

Gold gained on May 16 amid short coverings and bargain buying at lower levels. Gold June futures contract settled at $1814.00 per troy ounce with a gain of 0.20 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹1,789 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases worth ₹1,428 crore.