Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on November 17, 2022

Wall Street's main indices ended lower on Wednesday as a grim outlook from Target spurred fresh concerns about retailers heading into the crucial holiday season, while semiconductor shares slid after Micron's supply cut. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.09 points, or 0.12 percent, to 33,553.83, the S&P 500 lost 32.94 points, or 0.83 percent, to 3,958.79 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 174.75 points, or 1.54 percent, to 11,183.66.

Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded mixed as a number of economic data is released in the region. Japan reported a trade deficit of $15.5 billion, more than economists’ expectations of $11 billion forecasted in a Reuters poll. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.21 percent in its first hour of trade, as the country awaits its latest unemployment data later in the day. The Nikkei 225 shed 0.28 percent, while the Topix gained 0.2 percent.

Equity benchmark indices ended the trade in the positive territory on Wednesday, with the BSE Sensex closing at its fresh life-time high of 61,980.72, helped by buying in banking counters. After facing highs and lows during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex finally ended 107.73 points or 0.17 per cent higher at 61,980.72. During the day, the index hit its 52-week high of 62,052.57, higher by 179.58 points. The broader NSE Nifty ended marginally higher by 6.25 points or 0.03 per cent at 18,409.65.

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 90 points or 0.5 percent lower at 18,389, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices settled more than a dollar lower on Wednesday after Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary restarted and as rising Covid-19 cases in China weighed on sentiment. Brent crude futures settled a dollar lower at $92.86 a barrel, down 1.1 percent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid by $1.33, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $85.59 a barrel.

Surging household energy bills and food prices pushed British inflation to a 41-year high, data showed a day before finance minister Jeremy Hunt announces tough but necessary tax hikes and spending cuts to control price growth. Consumer prices rose 11.1 percent in the 12 months to October, the most since October 1981 and a big jump from 10.1 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth ₹386.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth ₹1,437.40 crore on November 16, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Spot gold fell 0.03 percent to $1,775.20 per ounce as of 8:25 am on Thursday.

The rupee depreciated by 35 paise to close at 81.26 against the US dollar on Wednesday due to foreign fund outflows.