Weak opening on the cards

SGX Nifty:

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could slide 137 points at the opening bell.

Global markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading mixed on Thursday as investors digested the U.S. Federal Reserve's smaller rate hike of 25 basis points and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged inflation is falling.

US stocks rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that inflation was starting to ease, in remarks he made following a quarter-point rate hike by the U.S. central bank.

The US central bank announced a quarter-point hike to the benchmark lending rate at the end of its two-day policy meeting, taking the rate to a target range of 4.50-4.75%. "Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated," said the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in a statement. "The committee anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate" to bring inflation back to policymakers' 2% target over time, the statement said.

Domestic markets:

Back home, the key equity indices ended a roller coaster session with tepid gains on Wednesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 158.18 points or 0.27% to 59,708.08. The Nifty 50 index lost 45.85 points or 0.26% to 17,616.30.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,785.21 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net buyers to the tune of Rs 529.47 crore in the Indian equity market on 1 February, provisional data showed.

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