Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 26, 2022

Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, boosted after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting showed policymakers unanimously felt the US economy was very strong as they grappled with reining in inflation without triggering a recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 191.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 32,120.28, the S&P 500 gained 37.25 points, or 0.95 percent, to 3,978.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 170.29 points, or 1.51 percent, to 11,434.74.

Asian share markets slipped on Thursday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's early May meeting showed a majority backing half-percentage-point rate hikes in June and July, and as persistent concerns over global growth sapped confidence. Lingering investor concern over those factors dragged MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.54% after trading higher early in the morning. Australian shares slipped 0.47% while Japan's Nikkei stock index reversed earlier gains to fall 0.13%. Seoul's Kospi was 0.25% higher after the central bank rate announcement came in line with expectations.

Weak global cues and lingering concerns over slowing economies and aggressive rate hikes kept the risk appetite of investors subdued as the market benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty closed in the red for the third consecutive session on May 25. The 30-share pack Sensex ended with a loss of 303 points, or 0.56 percent, at 53,749.26 with 12 stocks in the green and 18 in the red. Nifty50 ended 99 points, or 0.62 percent, lower at 16,025.80.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 78 points or 0.5 percent higher at 16,096, indicating a positive opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending a cautious rally this week on signs of tight supply while the European Union (EU) wrangles with Hungary over plans to ban imports from Russia, the world's second-largest crude exporter, after it invaded Ukraine. Brent crude futures for July settlement inched up 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $114.10 a barrel at 0142 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for July delivery climbed 22 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $110.55 a barrel.

All participants at the Federal Reserve's May 3-4 policy meeting backed a half-percentage-point rate increase to combat inflation they agreed had become a key threat to the economy's performance and was at risk of racing higher without action by the U.S. central bank, minutes of the session showed on Wednesday. This month's 50-basis-point hike in the Fed's benchmark overnight interest rate was the first of that size in more than 20 years

The rupee recovered 6 paise to settle at 77.53 against the US dollar on May 25 as interventions by banks supported the local unit while a stronger dollar in overseas markets restricted the gains.

Gold dipped after a rebound in the dollar index and the Federal Reserve Chairman’s signal for further interest rate hikes. Gold June futures contract settled at $1846.30 per troy ounce with a loss of 1.02 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹1,803.06 crore on Wednesday, according to provisional exchange data. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made net purchases worth ₹2,229.82 crore.