Before Market Opens: 9 essential things to know at 9 am on March 28, 2024

U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the Dow leading gains and the S&P 500 setting a closing record, paced by drugmaker Merck, while investors looked towards the next piece of inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary for signals on the rate path. Merck & Co advanced 4.96% as the best performer on the Dow after the USFDA approved its therapy for adults suffering from a rare lung condition. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 477.75 points, or 1.22% , to 39,760.08, the S&P 500 gained 44.91 points, or 0.86%, to 5,248.49 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 83.82 points, or 0.51%, to 16,399.52.

Asian markets traded lower on Thursday, while the Australian stocks hit a record high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.98%, while the Topix plunged 1.08%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.19%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a lower opening. In China, stocks were in the red, pressured by strong selling by foreign investors because of lingering concerns over the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell to a one-month low in early trade, while the Shanghai Composite index struggled below the psychologically key 3000-point mark and dipped 0.1%.

On Wednesday, the Indian stock market indices ended with decent gains led by a rally in index heavyweights, with the benchmark Nifty 50 closing above the 22,100 level. The Sensex rallied 526.01 points, or 0.73%, to end at 72,996.31, while the Nifty 50 settled 118.95 points, or 0.54%, higher at 22,123.65.

At 8:20 am, Gift Nifty was trading 39 points or 0.18 percent lower at 22,175, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets.

Global oil prices edged up on Thursday, recovering from two consecutive sessions of decline, as investors reassessed the latest U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories data and returned to buying mode. Brent crude futures for May were up 29 cents, or 0.34%, at $86.38 a barrel while the more actively traded June contract rose 28 cents, or 0.33%, to $85.69 at 0041 GMT. The May contract expires on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery were up 41 cents, or 0.50%, to $81.76 a barrel.

The semi-annual rebalance of Nifty indices will come into effect today, with adjustments being done on March 27. The Nifty indices rejig is estimated to lead to inflows worth $652 million in stocks such as Shriram Finance, HDFC Bank, Jio Financial Services, NTPC, Adani Power, and some others.

Stock exchanges BSE and NSE have released the list of 25 stocks that will be eligible for the shortened T+0 settlement cycle from today, March 28. The T+0 settlement will be optional for these 25 stocks and applicable only for trades executed between 9:15 am and 1:30 pm. Check full list here

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought shares worth ₹2,170.32 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased ₹1,197.61 crore worth of stocks on March 27, provisional data from the NSE showed.

Gold prices eased on Thursday as the U.S. dollar and bond yields ticked higher after comments from a Federal Reserve official on interest rate cuts, while investors looked forward to more economic data for policy clues. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,189.29 per ounce, as of 0139 GMT. U.S. gold futures edged 0.1% lower to $2,188.30 per ounce.

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Published: 28 Mar 2024, 08:32 AM IST