Markets likely to open flat on muted global cues; HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto eyed

Markets may see a flat opening today following mixed cues from the global peers. The Asian markets have started on a positive note, however, Wall Street closed lower yesterday.

The immediate trigger for markets today would be the second quarter earnings of HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto.

On Tuesday, the 30-share Sensex ended lower by 58.09 points at 27,306.83 and the 50-share Nifty closed 13.40 points lower at 8,261.65.

At 8:20 AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty is trading flat.

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Among Sensex stocks, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto would be announcing their quarterly earning later in the day today.

Other companies that are set to unveil their quarterly set of data are Blue Dart, Cairn India, Idea Cellular, M&M Finance and others.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares eked out cautious gains on Wednesday as concerns about corporate earnings hobbled Wall Street while investors counted down to the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the week

Japan’s Nikkei is 0.8% up while Kospi is 0.2% up. However, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite are trading down between 0.4-0.6% each.

Wall Street offered little in the way of a lead with the Dow .DJI ending Tuesday 0.1 %lower, while the S&P 500 .SPX eased 0.14%  and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.5 %

Economic news from the United States was moderately upbeat as housing starts increased 6.5 percent in September to an annual pace of 1.21 million units, beating expectations for 1.15 million units.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

Reliance Communications: Reliance Communications, Aircel and Sistema (MTS) have begun initial talks for a three-way merger that could see the emergence of India's third largest telecom by subscribers.

Biocon: Biotechnology major Biocon on Tuesday reported an over two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 306 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Hero MotoCorp : Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday reported a marginal 1.13 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 772.06 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, as slowdown in rural markets affected motorcycle sales.

Maruti Suzuki: Maruti Suzuki's royalty payments to its Japanese parent Suzuki are "extortive" and the amount paid has increased over six times per car sold over the past 15 years,

Vedanta : Standard & Poor's has lowered its foreign currency long-term corporate credit rating on Vedanta Resources PLC to 'B+' from 'BB-' with a negative outlook, citing weak financial performance expected in the next 12-18 months.