Weak Asian cues to drag markets lower at start

The Indian indices are expected to open on a negative note on account of weak Asian cues. ONGC, Bank of Baroda, Uco Bank will declare quarterly results

Headlines for the day:

Lavasa gets six weeks to submit details sought by MoEF

JSW Steel renews focus on value added steel

ONGC finds shale gas in Bengal



Events for the day:

Major corporate action

Summit Securities to be listed today
Results: ONGC, Allahabad Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Baroda, Siemens
For more events and news, log on to Sharekhan.com

Pre-market report

Indian indices

It turned out to be another pathetic trading session yesterday for the markets, which got clobbered out of shape by around one and half a percentage points on the expiry day of January F&O series.

The sentiments across the Asian region are weak today, so the Indian markets may get a sluggish start. The trading may remain cautious to negative, until any positive trigger takes place.

The Sensex and the Nifty have declined 324 points (1.70%) and 93 points (1.63%) respectively in this truncated week till now.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities

The FIIs have bought Indian stocks worth a net of Rs428.30 crore on January 27, 2011 as compared to the net buy of Rs194.90 crore on January 25, 2011. The domestic investors have sold Indian shares worth a net of Rs51.50 crore on January 18, 2011.

Global signals

The European markets edged up on Thursday (January 27, 2011), led by banks, as Banco Santander rose ahead of results next week and Spain stepped up efforts to restructure its savings banks.

In the US, strong corporate earnings led Wall Street to a 29-month closing high for a second day on Thursday.

The Asian markets were trading lower, with Japan's Nikkei index falling after a leading credit ratings agency downgraded the country's long-term sovereign debt rating. SGX Nifty was trading 25.5 points lower, suggesting for a negative start on the Indian bourses.

Commodity cues

Crude oil fell on talk of more OPEC output to cool prices coupled with a rise in the US jobless claims. Crude for March delivery declined by $1.69, to settle at $85.64 a barrel.