Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 18, 2022

Wall Street finished sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by Apple, Tesla and other mega-cap growth stocks after strong retail sales in April eased worries about a slowing economic growth. The S&P 500 climbed 2.02 percent to end the session at 4,088.85 points. The Nasdaq gained 2.76 percent to 11,984.52 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.34 percent to 32,654.59 points.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed Wednesday morning following overnight comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who said he’s resolved to raise rates until inflation comes down. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.58%. The Topix index traded 0.64 percent higher.

A strong wave of buying engulfed the domestic market, surprising many, as concerns over inflation, aggressive rate hikes and geopolitical tensions persisted. Sensex vaulted 1426 points in intraday trade and settled with a gain of 1345 points, or 2.54 percent, at 54,318.47 with all components in the green. Nifty ended the day at 16,259.30, up 417 points or 2.63 percent.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 20 points or 0.1 percent lower at 16,246, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices rose more than $1 a barrel in early Asian trade on Wednesday on hopes of demand recovery in China as the country gradually eases some of its strict COVID-19 containment measures. Brent crude futures were up $1.15, or 1 percent, at $113.08 a barrel at 0042 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed $1.62, or 1.4 percent, to $114.02 a barrel, paring some losses after oil prices fell by around 2 percent in the previous session.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) made a weak debut on the bourses on Tuesday. The stock listed at ₹867.20 on BSE, an 8.6 percent discount from its IPO price of ₹969. On NSE as well, it listed at an 8.11 percent discount at ₹872. The stock ended at a 9.6 percent discount to its issue price at ₹875.45 per share on the BSE. In comparison, the Sensex settled 2.5 percent or 1,344 points higher at 54,318.

Gold witnessed high volatility and extended its gain amid weakness in the dollar index. Gold June futures contract settled at $1818.90 per troy ounce with a gain of 0.27 percent. However, with upbeat US economic data, the precious metal saw its gains capped. The US Federal Reserve Chairman’s comment on controlling inflation also restricted gains of the precious metal.

The rupee ended 26 paise higher at 77.57 per dollar on May 17 owing to weakness in the dollar index. Strong gains in domestic equities also supported the rupee.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹2,192.44 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases worth ₹2,294.42 crore.