Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on May 4, 2022

The most awaited IPO is finally here. The initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation of India LIC opens today with the price band of ₹902-949 per equity share. The issue will close on May 9. The government will disinvest a 3.5 percent stake in LIC to garner ₹21,000 crore. The IPO will entirely be an offer for sale OFS by the government and will not comprise any fresh issue of equity shares.

Wall Street stocks ended higher on Tuesday after a choppy session in which each of the major indexes fluctuated between gains and losses as a key meeting of the Federal Reserve got under way. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.29 points, or 0.2%, to 33,128.79, the S&P 500 gained 20.1 points, or 0.48%, to 4,175.48 and the Nasdaq Composite added 27.74 points, or 0.22%, to 12,563.76.

Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade, with investors looking ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision expected later stateside. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index shed 0.68% as shares of Tencent and Alibaba both declined around 2% each. Elsewhere, the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.1% while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.19%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded little changed.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 4.5 points or 0.03 percent higher at 17,084, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets.

The Indian equity market ended in the red on May 2, extending the losses into the second consecutive session as investors remained cautious ahead of the US Fed policy outcome on May 4. Sensex closed 85 points, or 0.15 percent, lower at 56,975.99 while the Nifty50 closed 33 points, or 0.20 percent, lower at 17,069.10.

Oil prices rose at the start of Asian trade on Wednesday after industry data showed drawdowns in US crude and fuel stockpiles, raising supply concerns. The gains come on the back of news from Tuesday that the European Union is working on new sanctions against Russia for waging war on Ukraine that will target Moscow's oil industry. Brent crude futures rose 90 cents, or 0.9%, to $105.87 a barrel by 0001 GMT. WTI crude futures rose $1.00, or 1%, to $103.41 a barrel.

The rupee ended 6 paise higher at 76.43 per dollar in the previous session. The rupee's gains were capped amid weakness in domestic equities.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) net sold Indian shares worth ₹1,853.5 crore on Monday, according to provisional exchange data. On the other hand, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth ₹1,951.1 crore.

Gold settled higher in the international markets in the previous session. Gold June futures contract settled at $1,896.90 per troy ounce, up by 0.30 percent.