Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on October 3, 2023

The S&P 500 ended nearly flat on Monday with utilities falling sharply and investors weighing the likelihood the Federal Reserve will need to hold interest rates higher for longer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.15 points, or 0.22%, to 33,433.35, the S&P 500 gained 0.34 points, or 0.01%, at 4,288.39 and the Nasdaq Composite added 88.45 points, or 0.67%, at 13,307.77.

Asia-Pacific stocks fell even after manufacturing data out of China bounced back to expansion territory. China’s factory activity in September expanded for the first time since April, according to official data over the weekend. China’s PMI climbed to 50.2 in September from 49.7, beating Reuters’ expectations of 50.0. China’s markets are closed for the weeklong Golden Week holiday. South Korean and Hong Kong’s markets are also closed for holidays. Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 0.31 percent lower to close at 31,759.88, while the Topix slipped 0.39 percent to end at 2,314.

At 8:20 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading 44 points or 0.22 percent lower at 19,569, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets. 

Indian Markets were closed on Monday on account of Gandhi Jayanti. Meanwhile, on Friday, benchmark Sensex rose by 320 points while Nifty closed above the 19,600 mark after value-buying in metal, financial and energy stocks aided by positive trends in the US and European markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 320.09 points or 0.49 per cent to settle at 65,828.41. During the day, it jumped 643.33 points or 0.98 per cent to 66,151.65. The Nifty advanced 114.75 points or 0.59 per cent to end at 19,638.30.

Oil prices fell about 2 percent on Monday to a three-week low as a higher-priced Brent contract expired, the US dollar strengthened and traders took profits, concerned about forecasts of rising crude supplies and pressure on demand from high-interest rates. On its first day as the front-month, Brent futures for December delivery fell to $90.78 a barrel, down $1.42, or 1.5 percent, from Friday’s close and also down about 4 percent from where the November future closed on Friday when it was still the front-month. That was the Brent front-month’s biggest daily percentage decline since late May. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.90, or 2.1 percent, to $88.89 per barrel. Both benchmarks were headed for their third daily decline and their lowest settlements since mid-September.

After a significant rush of IPOs in the quarter gone by, this week seems to be a silent period for the primary market in terms of new public issues launch as there won't be any new initial public offering. Meanwhile, 14 companies will be closing their IPOs while seven firms will be making their debut on the bourses this week. In the mainboard segment, pharma company Valiant Laboratories will close its ₹152-crore public issue on October 3, while the subscription for ₹71-crore IPO by Delhi-based wire manufacturer Plaza Wires will be ending on October 5.

The Indian currency markets were also closed on October 2, Monday, on account of Gandhi Jayanti. Meanwhile, on Friday, the rupee appreciated 14 paise to settle at 83.05 (provisional) against the US dollar, boosted by a firm trend in equity markets and a sharp correction in the greenback against major rivals overseas. The rupee opened strong at 83.13 against the US dollar and moved in the range of 83.03 to 83.13 against the greenback. It finally settled at 83.05 (provisional), registering a gain of 14 paise from its previous close.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹1,685.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought ₹2,751.49 crore worth of stocks on September 29, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

Gold extended its decline for the sixth straight session on Monday to hit a near seven-month trough, as a robust dollar and prospects of higher US interest rates took the shine off bullion. Spot gold was down 0.8 percent at $1,835.40 per ounce, its lowest since March 10. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.7 percent to $1,853.00.