Before Market Opens: 9 essential things to know at 9 am on April 10, 2024

Before Market Opens: Indian markets are likely to open on a flat note on Wednesday following cautions in Asian peers as investors kept watch for possible intervention by Japanese authorities to stop the yen's decline and awaited U.S. inflation data. Gift Nifty was trading 6 points lower, indicating a muted start for benchmark Nifty. Let's take a look at some key cues before the market opens today:

The S&P 500 posted nominal gains on Tuesday, a day ahead of major inflation data, weighed down by financial stocks as investors braced for major U.S. banks to kick off earnings reporting season on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 7.67 points, or 0.15%, to end at 5,210.06 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 52.68 points, or 0.32%, to 16,306.64. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.70 points, or 0.02%, to 38,885.10.

Asian stocks were muted as investors kept watch for possible intervention by Japanese authorities to stop the yen's decline and awaited U.S. inflation data later on Wednesday for clues to future interest rate moves. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2%, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild gains. The index is up 0.2% so far this month. Australian shares were up 0.3% in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei stock index was down 0.41%. The Nikkei is looking to test 40,000 points again, with the yen's slide seen helping fuel that push. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.7% early while China's blue chip CSI300 index was flat.

On Tuesday, the Indian stock market benchmark indices ended with modest losses after hitting their fresh record high during the session. The Sensex fell 58.80 points, or 0.08%, to close at 74,683.70, while the Nifty 50 index settled 23.55 points, or 0.1%, lower at 22,642.75.

At 8:20 am, Gift Nifty was trading 6 points or 0.03 percent lower at 22,825, indicating a flat opening for the Indian markets.

Japan’s corporate goods price index rose 0.8% in March from a year ago, the third straight month of increase, accelerating from the revised 0.7% increase in February, in line with expectations from economists polled by Reuters. On a month on month basis, Japan’s CGPI rose 0.2%.

Oil prices held steady in early trade on Wednesday after two straight days of losses, as worries about tighter supply due to uncertainty over Gaza ceasefire talks were offset by a bigger-than-expected build in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude futures were flat at $89.42 per barrel at 0010 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 2 cents to $85.25.

Gold prices edged down on Wednesday, hovering below a record high, as investors looked out for minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting and crucial inflation data for cues on the timing and extent of interest rate cuts. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,348.49 per ounce, as of 0107 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,365.09 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures edged 0.2% higher to $2,366.60 per ounce.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth ₹593.20 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought ₹2,257.18 crore worth of stocks on April 9, provisional data from the NSE showed.

The Indian rupee is poised to open higher on Wednesday helped by the dip in U.S. Treasury yields ahead of the release of the key inflation data in the world's largest economy. Non-deliverable forwards indicate rupee will open at 83.22-83.24 to the U.S. dollar compared with 83.3150 in the previous session.