Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 24, 2023

Wall Street stocks finished sharply lower on Tuesday and short-term Treasury yields shot up as investor jitters grew over a lack of progress in U.S. debt limit talks. The S&P 500 lost 1.12 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.26 percent and 0.69 percent, respectively.

Asian stocks declined on Wednesday as negotiations over raising the US debt ceiling remained at an impasse, sapping sentiment for risk-taking. n Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.77 percent and the Topix fell 0.35 percent in early trade. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.2 percent lower, with the Kosdaq down 0.34 percent. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3 percent in early trade. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set to extend its losses from a two-month low, with futures at 19,285 compared to the HSI’s close of 19,431.25.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 78 points or 0.43 percent lower at 18,283, indicating a gap down opening for the Indian markets. 

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty eked out gains in volatile trade to extend the winning streak to a third straight day on Tuesday amid weak trends in global markets as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines ahead of the release of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes. Fag-end volatility dragged the 30-share BSE Sensex lower from its intra-day high level and it finally settled at 61,981.79, a marginal gain of 18.11 points or 0.03 percent. The NSE Nifty went up by 33.60 points or 0.18 percent to end at 18,348, driven by gains in Adani group stocks.

Oil prices gained on Wednesday after U.S. oil and fuel supplies tightened and as a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts. Brent crude was up $1.14, or 1.5 percent, at $77.13 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.21, or 1.7 percent, to $73.26 a barrel.

The rupee traded in a narrow range and settled for the day 2 paise higher at 82.82 against the US dollar on Tuesday, amid a muted trend in domestic equities.

Gold prices dipped on Tuesday as yields climbed while talks over raising the US debt limit stretched to another round but recovered from session lows as the dollar retreated from earlier highs. Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,967.03 per ounce by 11:57 a.m., after shedding as much as 0.8 percent earlier. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,969.20.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹182.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth ₹397.29 crore on May 23, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

LIC, Hindalco, Nykaa, Cummins India, etc, are likely to announce their March quarter results today.