Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on September 27, 2023

Wall Street's main indexes ended down over 1% on Tuesday as 10-year Treasury yields held their multi-year highs, with investors still wrestling with prospects for a long period of high-interest rates and the economic fallout. The Dow posted its biggest one-day percentage drop since March, while all three major averages ended at their lowest closing levels in well over three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 388.00 points, or 1.14%, to 33,618.88, the S&P 500 lost 63.91 points, or 1.47%, to 4,273.53 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 207.71 points, or 1.57%, to 13,063.61.

Asia stocks traded mixed on Wednesday and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields were near multi-year highs, as investors sour on both stocks and bonds amid worries about the impact of higher-for-longer interest rates. Early in the Asian trading day, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%. The index is down 3.7% so far this month. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.13%. Australian shares were down 0.25%, while Japan's Nikkei stock index slid 0.47%. China's blue-chip CSI300 index was 0.41% higher in early trade. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 0.8%.

At 8:20 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading 7.5 points or 0.04 percent lower at 19,725, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets. 

Benchmark Sensex closed lower by 78 points in a listless trade on Tuesday due to select profit-taking in IT and banking shares in line with weak Asian markets and continuous foreign fund outflows. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 78.22 points or 0.12 per cent to settle at 65,945.47 with 14 of its components closing lower and 16 advancing. During the day, it declined 158.06 points or 0.23 percent to a low of 65,865.63. The broader Nifty dipped 9.85 points or 0.05 percent to end at 19,664.70.

Oil prices slipped in trade on Tuesday amid concerns that fuel demand will be crimped by major central banks holding interest rates higher for longer, even with supply expected to be tight. Brent crude futures were down 11 cents at $93.18 a barrel at 0055 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were trading 1 cent lower at $89.67.

Bank of Japan policymakers agreed on the need to maintain ultra-loose monetary settings but were divided on how soon the central bank could end negative interest rates, minutes of its July meeting showed on Wednesday. Many members agreed the central bank must keep interest rates ultra-low for now as stable, sustainable achievement of its 2% target was not yet in sight, the minutes showed. At the July meeting, the BOJ maintained its easy policy settings but took steps to allow long-term borrowing costs to rise more freely in line with increasing inflation and economic growth.

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth ₹693.47 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought ₹714.75 crore worth of stocks on September 26, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

The rupee stayed on the downward track for the second straight day to settle 14 paise lower at 83.27 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday due to a firm greenback against major currencies overseas and persistent foreign capital outflows. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 83.19 and traded between a high of 83.17 and a low of 83.27 against the greenback during the day. It finally settled at 83.27 (provisional), registering a fall of 14 paise from its previous close.

Gold prices drifted lower on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields climbed, with investors awaiting a key consumer inflation report for more cues on whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates once again this year. Spot gold ticked down 0.1 percent to $1,913.25 per ounce by 0403 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $1,932.20.