Before Market Opens: 9 things to know at 9 am on December 7, 2023 9 Photos . Updated: 07 Dec 2023, 08:52 AM IST Pranati Deva Indian markets are likely to open in the red on Thursday following losses in Asian peers after Wall Street gains in overnight deals. Meanwhile, Gift Nifty was trading 18 points lower, indicating a negative start. Let's take a look at some key cues before the market opens today: 1/9U.S. stocks ended down on Wednesday, pulled lower by megacaps and energy shares as signs of a cooling jobs market reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates early next year. The S&P 500 declined 0.39% to end at 4,549.34 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) fell 0.58% to 14,146.71, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) slid 0.19% to 36,054.43. (REUTERS) 2/9Asian shares slipped with Wall Street on Thursday, while a sharp fall in oil prices to a five-month low promised to further reduce inflationary pressures and helped boost the global bond market. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.5%, having been down 1.6% so far this month after a 7.3% rally in November. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.3%, led by declines in energy and tech stocks. China's bluechips eased 0.4% to inch closer to a five-year trough that it hit the previous session, after the rating agency Moody's cut the Asian giant's credit outlook. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.7% to hover near a 13-month low. 3/9At 8:20 am, the GIFT Nifty was trading 18 points or 0.09 percent lower at 21,043, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets. 4/9Equity benchmarks the Sensex and the Nifty 50 extended their record-setting spree into the third consecutive session on Wednesday, December 6, as sentiment remained bullish on the expectations of political stability after General Elections 2024 and a strong growth outlook. The Nifty 50 and the Sensex closed higher for the seventh consecutive session. While the Nifty 50 has jumped 5.8 percent, the Sensex has gained 5.6 percent in these seven days. Nifty 50 closed at 20,937.70, up 83 points, or 0.40 per cent while the Sensex closed the day with a gain of 358 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 69,653.73. Both indices closed at their fresh closing peaks. 5/9The Reserve Bank-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is unlikely to tweak repo rates till June next year, according to a foreign brokerage report. The bi-monthly MPC meeting started on December 6 and the decision on rates will be announced on December 9. According to the report by Deutsche Bank, the interest rate cycle appears to have peaked and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to go for further hikes, unless absolutely necessary. The rate is likely to be cut in June, it said.The RBI hiked the repo rate last on February 23, when it was raised to 6.5 percent. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will unveil the fifth monetary policy of the financial year 2023-24 on Friday, December 8, after a two-day review 6/9Oil prices recouped some of their losses in early Asian trading but remained at the lowest levels since June, after falling in the previous session on high U.S. crude output and gasoline inventories. Brent crude futures rose 32 cents, or 0.43%, to $74.62 a barrel by 0116 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.48%, to $69.71 a barrel. (REUTERS) 7/9The rupee appreciated 5 paise against the US dollar on Wednesday led by a bullish trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund inflows. The local currency ended at 83.33 a dollar as compared to previous close of 83.38. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.07% lower at 103.97. 8/9Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers for the first time in last 10 consecutive sessions, offloading shares worth ₹79.88 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought ₹1,372.18 crore worth of stocks on December 6, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed. 9/9Gold firmed on Wednesday as Treasury yields eased, stabilizing after a rapid retreat from a record high hit earlier this week, while investors braced for the U.S. jobs report for further clues on how soon interest rates may materialize. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,025.09 per ounce by 10:13 a.m. ET (1513 GMT). U.S. gold futures gained 0.3% to $2,043.10.