10 things to know before opening bell on April 22

SUMMARY

Indian shares are set for a gap-down start on Friday tracking weak global cues, with investors turning cautious on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s suggestion that the US central bank would move aggressively to curb inflation. Asian markets trade sharply lower amid persisting global macro worries over inflation and geopolitical tensions. Here are 10 things you should know before the opening bell on April 22:

By CNBCTV18.comApr 22, 2022 8:17:51 AM IST (Published)

Wall Street | US stocks opened strong, buoyed by corporate earnings and strong jobless data, but began to retreat ahead of Powell's afternoon remarks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 1.05 percent, while the S&P 500 lost 1.48 percent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.07 percent.

Asian Equities | Asian markets suffered losses in morning trade with Japan's Nikkei down 2.23 percent, the Shanghai index fell 0.25 percent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was trading 1.5 percent lower.

SGX Nifty | The Singapore Exchange was in the red in the morning trade. SGX Nifty which is an indicator of how India's broader Nifty will perform was down 1.2 percent and Nifty Futures were trading 1.18 percent at 7:40 am. (Image Reuters)

Dalal Street | The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 874.18 points or 1.53 percent to finish at 57,911.68 and the broader NSE Nifty rallied 256.05 points or 1.49 percent to 17,392.60.

Rupee | The rupee appreciated by 13 paise to close at 76.17 against the US dollar on Thursday amid a weak greenback overseas and a rally in domestic equities.

Oil | Crude oil prices rose buffeted by concerns about tightened supply as the European Union mulls a potential ban on Russian oil imports that would further restrict worldwide oil trade. Brent crude fell 0.85 percent to $107.38 at 7:40 am.

Gold | Spot gold was in the green, up marginally. It was trading 0.2 percent higher at $1,952.5 an ounce.

Cryptocurrency | Cryptocurrencies too were trading in the red on Friday with Bitcoin having lost 1.6 percent at $40,538.45 while Ethereum was at $2,998.88, down 2.35 percent in the last 24 hours.

US Federal Reserve | Powell said that a half-point interest rate increase will be ‘on the table’ when the Fed meets in May, adding it would be appropriate to ‘be moving a little more quickly.’ (Image Reuters)

Russia-Ukraine crisis | US President Joe Biden has announced the United States will ban Russian-affiliated ships from American ports, joining Canada and European nations in the latest step to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.