Pre-Market: Positive opening seen

The markets are likely to open on a strong note tracking global cues. Defensive names rallied in an otherwise flat day for Wall Street on Monday as investors paused after recent gains and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy statement.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.3 per cent to 12,960, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index inched up 0.02 per cent to 1,371 levels.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average rose 0.5 per cent on Tuesday, aided by the softer yen, while MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside of Japan also added 0.5 per cent.

Back home, the Nifty is likely to face resistance around 5,395-5,420, while it may seek support around 5,325-5,300 levels, technical analysts suggest. At 8 am Indian Standard Time, the SGX Nifty was trading at 5,442 up 1.1 per cent.

Among individual stocks, watch out for Jet Airways that has stated that the tax authorities have not frozen the airline's bank accounts, contrary to reports, and it plans to pay its January tax dues soon.

Competition watchdog CCI has ordered a probe into allegations that coal giant CIL is imposing unfair conditions for the supply of coal to Maharashtra State Power Generation Company.

Natco Pharma has received a compulsory licence from the Indian patents office to manufacture and sell a generic version of Bayer's cancer treatment drug Nexavar.