Before Market Opens: 9 essential things to know at 9 am on April 18, 2024

Before Market Opens: Indian markets are set to open on a muted note on Thursday following mixed trade in Asian peers after Wall Street ended lower in overnight deals. Rising geopolitical tensions also kept markets in check. Gift Nifty was trading 3 points lower, indicating a flat start for benchmark Nifty. Let's take a look at some key cues before the market opens today:

U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance and a batch of soft earnings early in the financial reporting season. On Tuesday, U.S. central bank officials including Fed Chair Jerome Powell backed away from providing guidance on when rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.66 points, or 0.12%, to 37,753.31, the S&P 500 lost 29.20 points, or 0.58%, to 5,022.21 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 181.88 points, or 1.15%, to 15,683.37.

Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.4% but regional moves were uneven, with gains in South Korea and Australia but falls elsewhere. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4% and with a drop of 4.3% so far this week is eyeing its largest weekly loss since December 2022. Australian stocks looked set to snap five consecutive sessions of losses with the ASX 200 up 0.5% just before midday in Sydney.

The Indian stock market was closed on Wednesday, April 17, on account of Ram Navami celebrations. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Indian stock market indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, extended losses for the third consecutive session and ended over half a percent lower amid weak global cues. The Sensex declined 456.10 points, or 0.62%, to close at 72,943.68, while the Nifty 50 dropped 124.60 points, or 0.56%, to settle at 22,147.90.

Gift Nifty was trading 3 points lower at 22,150, indicating a muted opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, slightly paring the previous session's losses after the United States said it would reinstate oil sanctions Venezuela, while the European Union talked of fresh curbs on Iran. Brent futures were up 10 cents, or 0.11%, at $87.39 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures traded 2 cents higher at $82.71 a barrel at 0053 GMT. The two benchmarks slid 3% in the previous session on demand worries.

Gold prices climbed on Thursday as concerns about the Middle East war extending to other regions boosted demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,369.93 per ounce, as of 0107 GMT. U.S. gold futures dipped 0.1% to $2,385.10 per ounce.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth ₹4,468.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹2,040.38 crore worth of stocks on April 16, provisional data from the NSE showed.

The International Monetary Fund on April 16 raised India’s FY25 GDP growth forecast by 30 bps to 6.8 percent from its January forecast of 6.5 percent, citing bullish domestic demand conditions and a rising working-age population. With this, India continues to be the fastest-growing economy in the world, ahead of China's growth projection of 4.6 percent during the same period. IMF sees India's FY26 GDP growth at 6.5 percent. The global financial agency sees India's retail inflation at 4.6 percent in FY25 and 4.2 percent in FY26.

A total of 19 companies are scheduled to release their financial results for the fourth quarter of FY24 (Q4 FY24) today, April 18 (Thursday). These include Infosys, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Life Insurance Company, ICICI Securities, TV18 Broadcast, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd, Mastek, Surana Solar Limited, and Swaraj Engines, etc.