Pre-Market: Cautious opening seen; FOMC eyed

Markets are likely to start on a cautious note ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. At Indian time, 8am, the SGX Nifty was down 0.1 percent at 5,858.

U.S. stocks advanced after former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers withdrew as a candidate for Federal Reserve chairman, lifting some market uncertainty about what was heading towards a contentious confirmation process.

Early enthusiasm faded, however, after President Barack Obama stood firm in warning Republicans in Congress he will not negotiate over an extension of the U.S. debt ceiling as part of a budget fight.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.77 percent, to 15,495, the S&P 500 gained 0.57 percent, to 1,698, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.12 percent, to 3,718.

Asian shares slipped slightly, as global markets braced for the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting at which it is widely expected to begin withdrawing stimulus.

Despite a lacklustre August jobs report, the U.S. central bank is expected to begin scaling back its quantitative easing scheme by reducing its monthly asset purchases by about $10 billion from the current $85 billion.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 0.1 percent, with Japan's Nikkei stock average up 0.2 percent after Japanese markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday.

Stocks to watch

Pharma stocks will be under pressure as US FDA tightens regulatory noose on Indian drug firms.

GMR Infrastructure, may see some gains as their  asset-light - asset-right strategy .

Tata Steel is likely to see an uptick as the company's chrome mine got a green nod for 2.4 MTPA production.