Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could fall 32 points at the opening bell. On the macro front, the Nikkei Manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) for December 2018 will be announced today, 2 January 2019.

Overseas, Asian stocks kicked off 2019 on a muted note, with a holiday in Japan dampening volumes, after global stocks finished their worst year since the financial crisis.

Back home, late buying demand in index pivotals helped domestic stocks log modest gains on first trading day of calendar 2019 yesterday, 1 January 2019. Volatility was high as the Sensex settled above the psychological 36,000 level after moving above and below that level in intraday trade. The Sensex rose 186.24 points or 0.52% to settle at 36,254.57, its highest closing level since 20 December 2018.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 48.19 crore yesterday, 1 January 2019, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 142.58 crore yesterday, 1 January 2019, as per provisional data.