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

Wall Street finished mixed on Monday, with the Nasdaq helped by gains in Alphabet and Meta Platforms, while the S&P 500 ended near flat as investors refrained from big bets ahead of a fresh round of talks about raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Dow Jones ended 140 points lower at 33,286, whereas S&P 500 closed 0.65 points higher at 4,192 and NASDAQ closed at 12,720.

The mildly positive but cautious tone flowed through into Asian stocks, with benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Australia opening higher Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 opened 0.6 percent up, while the Topix edged up 0.39 percent. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.31 percent and the Kosdaq was also 0.47 percent higher. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.22 percent in early trade even as the country’s composite purchasing managers index saw a softer expansion in May, according to Juno Bank. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set for a rebound. Futures for the HSI stood at 19,744 compared to the HSI’s close of 19,678.17.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 31 points or 0.17 percent higher at 18,366, indicating a positive opening for the Indian markets.  

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for a second straight session on Monday following buying in index heavyweight IT counters and Reliance Industries amid optimism in Asian markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 234 points or 0.38 percent to settle at 61,963.68. The NSE Nifty rallied 111 points or 0.61 percent to end at 18,314.40.

Oil prices climbed for a second day on Tuesday as investors expect a tighter market led by a seasonal rise in gasoline demand and supply cuts from OPEC+ producers, though concerns over the risk of a U.S. debt default capped gains. Brent crude futures rose 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.19 a barrel by 0052 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $72.26 a barrel, up 21 cents, or 0.3%.

The rupee fell 18 paise to close at 82.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday, weighed down by a strong greenback in the overseas market. 

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹922.89 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth ₹604.57 crore on May 22, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

Gold prices inched lower as hawkish comments from a couple of US Federal Reserve officials on Monday weighed on non-yielding bullion and markets looked for more clarity around the US debt ceiling negotiations. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent to $1,974.10 per ounce by 1:05 pm ET. US gold futures fell 0.3 percent to $1,976.40.

Ashok Leyland, NMDC, Biocon, JSW Energy, Amararaja Batteries and others are likely to announce their March quarter results today.