Market may open slightly lower

Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 11 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, Asian stocks traded mixed Wednesday following a volatile US session. US stocks nudged higher on Tuesday in a volatile day as investors braced for Wednesday's Federal Reserve policy decision against the backdrop of recent turmoil in global markets.

The Federal Reserve wraps up its final policy meeting of 2018 on Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to raise its short-term interest rate by a modest quarter-point to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. Investors are closely watching the Federal Reserve monetary policy guidance for 2019. The central bank forecasts three more rate hikes in 2019, but softer global growth could cause a shift in its hawkish stance. The Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision is due Thursday, followed by a briefing from Governor Haruhiko Kuroda. A Bank of England decision is also due on Thursday.

Back home,key equity benchmarks extended gains for sixth session in a row yesterday, 18 December 2018 led by gains in ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries. Slide in crude oil prices and firmness in rupee boosted investors sentiment. The Sensex rose 77.01 points or 0.21% to settle at 36,347.08, its highest closing level since 1 October 2018.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 144.76 crore yesterday, 18 December 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 182.60 crore yesterday, 18 December 2018, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news,NTPC announced that unit 6 of 500 MW capacity of Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station has been synchronized with grid after boiler restoration. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 18 December 2018.

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