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

U.S. stock futures slid in Asia on Monday as the military conflict in the Middle East boosted oil and Treasuries, while the sizzling September U.S. jobs report raised the rate stakes for inflation figures later in the week. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 207 points, or 0.6 percent. S&P 500 futures fell 0.7 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.6 percent.

Asian peers were also lower following the military conflict in the Middle East. Holidays in Japan and South Korea made for thin conditions but the initial bid was for bonds and the safe harbours of Japanese yen and gold, with the euro the main loser. While Tokyo was closed, Nikkei futures were trading down 0.8% and near where the cash market ended on Friday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan went flat, as Chinese blue chips dropped 1.1% on their return from holidays. 

At 8:20 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading 134 points or 0.68 percent lower at 19,636, indicating a weak opening for the Indian markets. 

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty rallied for a second straight session on Friday after the Reserve Bank maintained the status quo on policy rates, resulting in gains for rate-sensitive sectors like financial, realty and auto.  A firm trend in Asian and European markets also bolstered the investors' sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 364.06 points or 0.55 percent to settle at 65,995.63. During the day, it jumped 464.24 points or 0.70 percent to hit 66,095.81. The Nifty advanced 107.75 points or 0.55 percent to end at 19,653.50.

Oil prices jumped more than $4 a barrel in early Asian trade on Monday, as dramatic military clashes between Israeli and Hamas forces over the weekend deepened political uncertainty across the Middle East. Brent crude rose $4.18, or 4.94%, to $88.76 a barrel by 0120 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $87.02 a barrel, up $4.23, or 5.11%.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Saturday launched the largest military assault on Israel in decades, killing hundreds of Israelis and triggering a wave of retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Gaza that continued through Sunday. Israel pounded the Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Sunday, killing hundreds of people in retaliation for one of the bloodiest attacks in its history when Islamist group Hamas killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens more.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth ₹90.29 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased ₹783.25 crore worth of stocks on October 6, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

The rupee appreciated 4 paise to settle at 83.21 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid positive equity markets as the Reserve Bank kept the repo rate unchanged in its fourth consecutive monetary policy review. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.21 against the dollar and traded between a high of 83.28 and a low of 83.18. It finally settled at 83.21 (provisional) against the dollar, up 4 paise over Thursday's closing level of 83.25.

Gold prices gained on Friday, helped by a technical rebound after a nine-day losing streak, although robust US jobs data raised worries over another US rate hike and kept bullion on track for its second weekly drop. Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,831.09 per ounce but on track for its second straight weekly loss, down 0.9 percent so far.