At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading higher by 0.15 per cent on Singapore Stock Exchange
The domestic stock markets are likely to open flat, with a positive bias, after three succesive days of losses. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the index in India, with a 25-points gain. At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading at 14,997, higher by 25 points or 0.15 per cent, on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
Asian stocks were set to open mostly lower on Wednesday following a sell-off in US stocks as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s meeting outcome. All eyes are on the US Fed whether the central bank will maintain near-zero interest rates amid the economy’s post-pandemic recovery.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.34 per cent in early trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 futures fell 0.20 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures rose 0.34 per cent.
Overnight, the S&P 500 ended lower, weighed down by energy and industrial stocks as investors awaited the result of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39 per cent to end at 32,825.95 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.16 per cent at 3,962.71. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.09 per cent to 13,471.57.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged lower on Monday, pulling back from early gains fostered on strong Chinese economic news and ongoing supply restraint from major oil producers. Brent crude futures for May settled at $68.88 a barrel, losing 34 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for April settled at $65.39 a barrel, shedding 22 cents.
On the IPO front, Nazara Technologies and Suryoday Small Finance Bank will open their maiden public offers for subscription on March 17.
On Tueday, the BSE Sensex settled 31 points, or 0.06 per cent lower at 50,363.96 and NSE Nifty ended 19 points, or 0.13 per cent, down at 14,910.45.