Flat-to-negative opening seen as Asian stocks remain weak

Here are some of the stocks you need to keep a tab on for today

Benchmark indices are likely to see some weakness as the global markets continue the downslide amid slip in crude oil prices. Stock specific action, FII stance, crude oil and rupee movement along with advancement of monsoons are likely to set the tone of markets.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares are trading lower for the seventh consecutive trading session after a mixed set of US economic data failed to enthuse the investors. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite are trading lower between 0.2%-0.4%. Meanwhile, Japanese markets are shut on account of a public holiday.

Read more from our special coverage on "MARKETS"

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• Weakness in global stocks take shine off markets

Overnight, the US equities fell on account of mixed economic data.  US services sector expanded in April as new orders and employment advanced while, the ADP private sector employment report indicated that hiring for the month of April touched its lowest in three years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to close at 17,651.26 and the S&P500 dipped 0.6% to end 2,051.12.

Back home, the government on Wednesday said the monsoon is expected to hit Kerala by May-end or early June and that a formal forecast may be issued by May 15.

CORPORATE NEWS

India’s largest pharmaceutical firm, Sun Pharmaceutical, is scouting for a partner to market 14 brands it acquired from Novartis in Japan.

NTPC  has issued a notice for non-payment to Reliance Infrastructure’s two electricity distribution utilities in this city, BSES Rajdhani Power (BRPL) and BSES Yamuna Power (BYPL).

Hero Motocorp is scheduled to release its Q4 numbers today.

SKS Microfinance reported a 108% jump in net profit at Rs 84.47 crore for the quarter ended March, 2016 on the back of higher income growth. The firm's net profit in the corresponding quarter previous year was Rs 40.54 crore.

The BSE issued a notice to Ricoh India, giving the latter 21 days to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)'s listing regulations, failing which the company faces suspension of trading in its securities.

Stocks of cigarette makers including ITC, Godfrey Phillips and Golden Tobacco are likely to see some pressure after the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked domestic tobacco companies to adhere to the directive mandating 85% pictorial warnings on products. 

L&T could see an uptick after Larsen & Toubro Infotech (L&T Infotech),  IT services & solutions companies and a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with Elkjøp Nordic AS to provide end-to-end Infrastructure Management and Datacenter services.

HDFC has decided to raise Rs 1,135 crore by issuing debentures this week to meet funding requirements.

TVS Motor announced the launch of its new four-stroke TVS XL 100 in Karnataka. The new TVS XL 100 is powered by a 99.7cc four-stroke engine which delivers 4.2 PS power with initial pick up and a top speed of 60 kmph.