Before Market Opens: 9 essential things to know at 9 am on March 4, 2024

Before Market Opens: Indian markets are likely to open in the red on Thursday despite a surge in Asian peers as Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained over 0.8% to a new record high above the 40,000 mark. Gift Nifty was trading 14 points lower, indicating a negative start for benchmark Nifty. Let's take a look at some key cues before the market opens today:

US stock market indices rallied on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs, led by gains in technology stocks and declining Treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.99 points, or 0.23%, to 39,087.38, while the S&P 500 gained 40.81 points, or 0.80%, to 5,137.08. The Nasdaq Composite ended 183.02 points, or 1.14%, higher at 16,274.94. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.95%, the Nasdaq rose 1.74%, and the Dow fell 0.11%.

Asian markets traded higher tracking a rally on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained over 0.8% to a new record high above the 40,000 mark, while the broader Topix was flat. South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.43%, and the Kosdaq gained 1.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures indicated a flat opening. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.2%, after snapping a five-week winning streak with a slight drop last week.

The Indian bourses, BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE), held a special live trading session on Saturday, March 2, to assess the resilience of their disaster recovery systems. On Saturday, the stock market indices ended with marginal gains after hitting record highs during the day. The Sensex gained 60.80 points, or 0.08%, to close at 73,806.15, while the Nifty 50 settled 39.65 points, or 0.18%, higher at 22,378.40.

At 8:15 am, Gift Nifty was trading 16 points or 0.07 percent lower at 22,512, indicating a negative opening for the Indian markets.

Oil prices rose on Monday after OPEC+ members agreed to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter, largely in line with market expectations. Brent futures was 28 cents, or 0.3% higher, at $83.83 a barrel at 0134 GMT, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 20 cents, or 0.3%, to $80.17 a barrel.

Strong action will continue in the primary market in the week starting March 4, as eight initial public offerings (IPOs) are set to open for subscription, and seven companies are scheduled for listing on the bourses. The cumulative funds to be raised by the eight IPO-bound companies will be ₹1,483.2 crore. IPOs of RK Swamy, JG Chemicals, Gopal Snacks, VR Infraspace, Sona Machinery, Shree Karni Fabcom, Koura Fine Diamond Jewellery and Pune e-Stock Broking will open for subscription. On the other hand, Platinum Industries, Exicom Telesystems, Bharat Highways Infrastructure Investment Trust, Mukka Proteins, Owais Metal and Mineral Processing, Purv Flexipack, and MVK Agro Food Product willl debut exchanges.

Gold prices hovered near a two-month high on Monday, after softer U.S. economic data last week raised hopes for a June interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, sending the dollar and treasury yields lower. Spot gold edged 0.2% lower to $2,080.09 per ounce, as of 0152 GMT, after hitting $2088.19 on Friday - its highest since Dec. 28. U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% lower to $2,088.60.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth ₹81.87 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold ₹44.71 crore worth of stocks on March 2, provisional data from the NSE showed.

The rupee settled 1 paisa lower at 82.90 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday amid rising crude oil prices in the overseas market and increased demand for the American currency from importers.