Before Market Opens: From oil prices to SGX Nifty; 9 things to know at 9 am on September 2, 2022

A late rally helped the S&P 500 snap a four-session losing skid on Thursday with investor focus turning to a key report on the labor market on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 31,656.42; the S&P 500 gained 11.85 points, or 0.30 percent, to 3,966.85; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 31.08 points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,785.13.

Asian stocks fell Friday and a dollar gauge hovered near a record high ahead of key US jobs data that could stir expectations for another sharp Federal Reserve interest-rate hike. Japan’s Topix index dropped 0.6% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.1% South Korea’s Kospi index added 0.4%

At 8:20 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 4 points or 0.02 percent higher at 17,572, indicating a muted opening for the Indian markets.

Frontline indices the Sensex and the Nifty fell more than a percent each on September 1 as investors booked profit amid weak global cues. Sensex fell 770 points, or 1.29%, to 58,766.59 while the Nifty ended the day with a loss of 217 points, or 1.22%, at 17,542.80.

Oil prices climbed on Friday on bets that OPEC+ will discuss output cuts at a meeting on September 5, but the benchmarks were still on track to post their worst weekly drop in four on fears Covid-19 curbs in China and weak global growth will hit demand. Brent crude futures rose $1.20, or 1.3 percent, to $93.56 a barrel at 0117 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures jumped $1.16, or 1.3 percent, to $87.77 a barrel.

The dollar was headed for a third weekly gain in a row and stood near its highest levels for decades on the euro and yen on Friday, with investors in little mood for selling ahead of the US labour data that could bolster the case for interest rate hikes. Against the stronger dollar, the euro fell back below parity and at $0.9956, it was not far from last week's 20-year low of $0.99005. The yen steadied at 139.91 per dollar after making a trough of 140.27 in early Asian trading.

The rupee ended 10 paise lower at 79.56 per dollar in the previous session after the dollar index rose in anticipation of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed. Selling by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also exerted pressure on the rupee. 

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net sold shares worth ₹2,290.31 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net bought shares worth ₹951.13 crore on September 1, as per provisional data available on the NSE.

Gold edged up in the US market on September 2 but was headed for a third straight weekly drop, as data pointing at a resilient US economy bolstered the likelihood of Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer and pinned the dollar near recent peaks, reported Reuters.