Markets may open higher; Infosys, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto in focus

Selling by FIIs continued unabated;sold Indian equities worth Rs 668.85 crore on Friday

Markets are likely to open higher tracking gains in their Asian peers. However, some volatility may be expected later in the session as traders will remain cautious in a truncated week ahead of the F&O expiry on Wednesday.
 
For cues investors will also watch the US jobless data which is to be released later this week.

"For the day, Nifty needs to hold above 8175 levels to continue the up move towards 8,280 then 8,320 levels. On the downside immediate support is at ,8175 levels and below that profit booking may drag the index towards 8,120 and then 8,100 levels," technical analysts at Anand Rathi said in a morning note.

 

At 8:25AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty was up 37 points at 8,269.  Asian markets are mostly trading higher. While Nikkei is largely flat, Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices have gained over 1% each.
 
On Friday, US stocks ended higher and the S&P 500 came within a few points of its closing record high. The index has gained 5% since Wednesday for its best three-day stretch since 2011.  The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.15% while the S&P 500 gained  0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%.
 
Stocks in focus
 
Infosys is in focus on media reports that the IT major is increasing its focus on geographies like North America and EMEA region to drive growth of its core banking solution Finacle.

 
HDFC bank is in news as Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared HDFC Bank's proposal to raise Rs 10,000 crore, ending months of struggle by India's most valuable bank by market cap to enhance its capital base.
 
Bajaj Auto will be in focus as it has bagged an order for 1.25 lakh units of Discover-125M motorcycles from Sri Lankan government.
 
IDBI Bank is in news on announcement that it will sell its entire 5% stake in country's leading stock exchange NSE in a transaction that may fetch the public-sector lender about Rs 1,000 crore.
 
Tech Mahindra, is in focus on media reports that it has entered into a strategic alliance with a German start-up, Enquiss GmbH & Co KG, to expand in the connected devices segment.