Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 12.50 points at the opening bell on positive global cues.

Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher after recent losses amidst caution ahead of a key US Federal Reserve policy meeting outcome. US stocks ended higher Tuesday, led by strong gains in the energy sector as the overall market reclaimed some lost ground from the previous day, when tech shares fell sharply.

The US Federal Reserve started a two-day monetary policy meeting yesterday, 20 March 2018. The outcome of the meeting will be announced later in the global day today, 21 March 2018, with new Chair Jerome Powell set to give his first news conference.

Closer home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 344.16 crore yesterday, 20 March 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 731.17 crore yesterday, 20 March 2018, as per provisional data.

On the economic front, investment bank Goldman Sachs reportedly downgraded its forecasts for India's economy on Tuesday, 20 March 2018, in the wake of a more than $2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank, warning it could spark tighter regulation of the banking sector that would constrain credit growth. Goldman Sachs lowered its real GDP forecast on India till March 2019 to 7.6% from 8% earlier. For the current fiscal ending 31 March, it forecasts the Indian economy to grow 6.6%.

Among corporate news, TCS announced that Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) has implemented a single, integrated technology platform for its core operations to refinance real estate, a first of its nature deployment in the Middle East region. TCS BaNCS will now service the complete mortgage refinancing lifecycle including the treasury function as well as finance, human resources and payroll administration through its partner network. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 20 March 2018.

Key benchmark indices settled with small gains after a volatile session of trade yesterday, 20 March 2018. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 73.64 points or 0.22% to settle at 32,996.76. The Nifty 50 index rose 30.10 points or 0.30% to settle at 10,124.35. The Sensex settled below the psychological 33,000 mark after gyrating above and below that level in intraday trade.