Markets likely to open positive; SGX Nifty up 15 points

Markets are likely to open positive tracking positive Asian cues. The early indicator, SGX Nifty was up 15 points at 6,333 at 08:30.

Asian markets crept higher on Tuesday as Japanese stocks rebounded and Chinese money rates eased, while the US dollar got a fillip from a report the Federal Reserve would again trim its bond buying next week. The dollar broke the early lethargy with a hop to 104.48 yen when the Wall Street Journal reported the Fed is on track to trim its bond-buying program for the second time in six weeks, paring back by $10 billion to $65 billion a month.

A lacklustre US jobs report had not diminished the central bank's confidence in the economy, wrote Fed watcher Jon Hilsenrath. Investors suspect he has an inside line to policy makers and put a lot of weight on his opinion.

Trends in investment by Foreign Institutional Investors, movement in global markets and the rupee trajectory would be keenly watched for cues

Stock markets will take cues from the next batch of earnings from blue-chips, including HDFC and L&T, this week amid cautious trading ahead of the RBI policy later this month, say experts.

Ashok Leyland, Colgate-Palm, eClerx Services, Info Edg.(India), Kotak Mah. Bank, Thermax and Torrent Pharma will unveil the third quarter results today.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has a show-stopper up its sleeve for the coming Auto Expo. And, it’s not from its diesel-driven utility vehicle family, which has a created a fortune for the automaker. At the auto event, M&M is set to unveil India’s first sporty four-door all-electric car built by its subsidiary, Mahindra Reva Electric Cars (MREC), which has developed e2o, a four-seater mini electric car.

Tata Motors, the country’s fourth largest passenger vehicle maker, unveiled an indigenously developed petrol engine on Monday.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to start production of natural gas from coal seams, called coal-bed methane (CBM), in Madhya Pradesh from 2015-16.

State-owned LIC has cut its stake in Biocon to a little over 3 per cent by selling more than two per cent stake for over Rs 162 crore in the biotechnology company.

Lower volume growth, higher employee expenses and input cost inflation, with a marginally higher tax rate, pulled down Asian Paints’ results for the December 2013 quarter.

The government approved on Monday a stake-sale in Hindustan Zinc.