Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 25, 2023

Wall Street's main indexes ended lower on Wednesday as talks between the White House and Republican representatives on raising the U.S. debt ceiling dragged on without a deal. The lack of progress on raising the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt limit ahead of a June 1 deadline, with several rounds of inconclusive talks, has made investors edgier as the risk of a catastrophic default looms larger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 255.59 points, or 0.77%, to 32,799.92, the S&P 500 lost 30.34 points, or 0.73%, to 4,115.24 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 76.08 points, or 0.61%, to 12,484.16.

More broadly across Asia, equities fluctuated, reflecting cross winds as investors weigh the risk of the US defaulting on its debt, the chances of another rate hike by the Federal Reserve, central bank meetings in Seoul and Jakarta, and signs of weakness in the Chinese economy. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.22 percent, but the Topix saw a loss of 0.3 percent. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also saw a weak open at 0.71 percent lower. Most notably, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index looks set to breach its two-month low, with futures standing at 18,878 compared to its last close of 19,115.93. 

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 41 points or 0.23 percent lower at 18,242, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets. 

Benchmark stock indices closed lower on Wednesday, snapping their three-day gaining streak following profit-taking in financials, metal and oil shares amid a bearish trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 208.01 points or 0.34 percent to settle at 61,773.78 in volatile trade. The index opened lower but bounced back in late-morning deals to hit a high of 62,154.14. The barometer later gave up gains to hit a low of 61,708.10 in line with weak European markets. The broader NSE Nifty declined 62.60 points or 0.34 percent to end at 18,285.40 after losses in Adani Entertainment, Adani Ports and Tata Motors.

Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Wednesday, after a large, unexpected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories and a warning from the Saudi energy minister that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts. Brent crude futures rose $1.63, or 2.1 percent, to $78.47 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained $1.68, or 2.2 percent, to $74.56 a barrel.

Gold eased on Wednesday as the dollar firmed, cutting some safe- haven flows into bullion from the looming risk of a U.S. debt default as talks entered a critical stretch, while investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve’s recent policy meeting. Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,961.59 per ounce by 12:03 p.m. ET after rising as much as 0.5 percent earlier. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,964.50.

The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 82.70 against the US dollar on Wednesday, supported by foreign capital inflows.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth ₹1,185.84 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth ₹300.93 crore on May 24, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange showed.

Leading bourses BSE and NSE will put the securities of Adani Enterprises under the short-term ASM framework from today. The parameters for shortlisting securities under ASM include high-low variation, client concentration, number of price band hits, close-to-close price variation and price-earnings ratio. Adani Enterprises Ltd is shortlisted in the short-term Additional Surveillance Measure (ASM) framework Stage-I effective from May 25, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the BSE said in two separate circulars on Wednesday.