10 things you need to know before the opening bell on June 3

1. Wall Street: Stocks managed to end with modest gains on Wall Street after a day of wavering back and forth. Technology stocks helped lift the broader market. Energy companies also rose along with the price of crude oil. The S&P 500, DJIA, and the Nasdaq rose 0.1 percent each.

2. Asian stocks: Asian shares were a touch below a recent three-month top on Thursday with China a tad weaker as investors weighed inflation concerns ahead of key US economic data while oil prices rose to near 1-1/2 year highs. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 percent. Japan’s Nikkei added 0.4 percent. Australian shares climbed to all-time highs as investors cheered stronger-than-expected economic growth data released on Wednesday. Chinese shares were marginally softer.

3. D-Street: Indian indices ended flat on Wednesday as losses in IT, FMCG and financial stocks were capped by gains in auto, metals and pharma sectors. The Sensex ended 85 points lower at 51,849 while the Nifty was up 1 point to settle at 15,576. Broader markets, however, outperformed with the midcap and smallcap indices up 1-1.5 percent.

4. Crude oil: Oil prices surged on Wednesday, hitting the highest in more than a year on lift from a decision by OPEC and allies to stick to the plan to gradually restore supply, along with the slow pace of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. Brent rose 1.6 percent to settle at $71.35 a barrel. It reached $71.48 a barrel, its highest since January 2020. US WTI crude rose 1.6 percent to settle at $68.83 a barrel. It hit $69.00 a barrel during the session, the highest since October 2018.

5. Gold: Gold slipped by Rs 116 to Rs 48,772 per 10 grams on Wednesday in line with a fall in global precious metal prices. Silver also tumbled Rs 1,291 to Rs 70,836 per kg, from Rs 72,127 per kg in the previous trade. In the international market, gold was trading lower at USD 1,898 per ounce and silver was flat at USD 27.74 per ounce.

6. Rupee: Extending losses for the third straight session, the rupee on Wednesday fell by another 19 paise to end at 73.09 against the US currency due to a stronger dollar in the overseas markets and higher crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened on a negative note at 73.13 per dollar as against its previous close of 72.90.