Expect weak opening ahead of FOMC meet

Indian equities indices declined for a second day, tracking losses in Asian shares ahead of major world central bank meetings and also some caution in the face of April derivative contracts expire on Thursday, a traditionally volatile period in markets. The Sensex slid 0.6%, or 159.21 points, to 25,678.93 and Nifty settled 0.56% down at 7,855.05. The broader markets too witnessed selling pressure with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.14% and 0.39%, respectively. Further, weakness in Indian rupee too dampened the sentiment trading down 22 paise at 66.71 per US dollar. On sectoral front, Power, Metal and Oil & Gas indices slid around 1%.

U.S. stocks finished lower Monday as investors weighed a round of lackluster earnings, a slew of fresh economic data and the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday on interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average edged down 26 points, or 0.2% to 17,977. The S&P 500 index lost three points, or 0.2% to 2,087. The Nasdaq composite slipped 10 points, or 0.2% to 4,895.

Crude oil prices lower on Monday, pulling back after a strong rally last week, on signs of rising global production. WTI ended down 2.5% at USD 42.64 a barrel, while the global Brent contract finished 1.4% lower at USD 44.48 a barrel. Official U.S. Energy Department inventory data is scheduled to be released Wednesday.

European stock markets ended lower Monday, amid weak sentiment across the globe, as traders looked ahead to key central bank meetings due towards the end of the week. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5% to close at 346.68. In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 lost 0.8% to 10,294.35 after the Ifo Institute issued an unexpected fall to 106.6 in April, compared with a forecast of 107.0 in its German business sentiment reading. France’s CAC 40 fell 0.5% to 4,546.12 and U.K’s FTSE 100 ended 0.8% lower at 6,260.92.

Asian markets opened lower on Tuesday, as investors braced for central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan later this week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.76% as the yen traded at 111.04 per dollar. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index down 0.20% while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index slipped 0.33%. Both markets resumed trading after Monday’s holiday. South Korea’s Kospi index erased their initial gains and traded at flat.

On domestic front, A SGX Nifty 50 index future for April series traded down by 30.5 points to 7,844.50. Indian markets are likely to open weak to negative tracking SGX Nifty. Investors will be keeping an eye on Axis bank, Biocon and Maruti results due for release today.