Before Market Opens: US, Asian stocks down on recession fears; 9 things to know at 9 am on December 8, 2022

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell on December 7 as investors as investors remained concerned over the impact of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening over the economy. Top executives at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp have warned that a recession was likely ahead. The S&P 500 declined 0.19 percent, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.51 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat.

Major Asian markets declined, following Wall Street, as worries mounted over an impending recession in the US which could have a global impact. Japan's Nikkei fell about a percent while China's Shnaghai Composite Index traded lower by about 0.15 percent around 7:30 am IST.

Domestic market benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty ended lower on December 7 amid mixed global cues and after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the policy rate by 35 bps to 6.25 percent. Sensex closed 216 points, or 0.34 percent, lower at 62,410.68 while the Nifty50 settled at 18,560.50, down 82 points, or 0.44 percent. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.41 percent while the Smallcap index declined 0.44 percent.

SGX Nifty (Nifty futures on Singapore Stock Exchange) indicated a negative start for the domestic market on December 8. At 8 am, the SGX Nifty was trading 13 points, or 0.07 percent, lower at 18,658.5.

Oil prices saw an uptick after a four-day drop as investors expected an improvement in demand after China’s moves to ease virus curbs. However, concerns over a looming recession in the US capped the gains. Brent Crude traded 0.61 percent higher at 7:40 am.

Gold prices were little changed in early Asian trade on December 8, after bullion jumped more than one percent in the previous session following a retreat in the US dollar and yields, reported Reuters. REUTERS/Ajay Verma

The rupee rose 14 paise to close at 82.48 per dollar in the previous session on December 7 as the US currency weakened due to concerns over a looming recession.

Economists at global brokerage firm Nomura believe India's GDP growth may slow down sharply to 5.1 percent in 2023-24 and force the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the key repo rate by 75 basis points (bps) in the second half of 2023, reported Moneycontrol. The report further said that Nomura expects the RBI's monetary policy committee (MPC) to effect a shallow easing cycle by cutting the policy rate by 25 basis points each in August 2023, October 2023, and December 2023 to end 2023 with a repo rate of 5.75 percent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) sold Indian shares worth ₹1,241.87 crore on NSE, BSE and MSEI in the previous session on December 7. Conversely, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought Indian shares worth ₹388.85 crore, data from NSE showed.