Markets may open higher; ICICI Bank, L&T, HUL in focus

Markets may open higher tracking the gains in select Asian peers and overnight strong rebound in US markets which gained on positive statements by Federal Reserve.
 
At 8:22AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty was up 89 points at 8,136.
 
Investors are likely to react positively to progress on big-ticket policy reforms as the Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and the Lok Sabha approved amendments to the Companies Act.
 

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,636.36 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

 
Asian share markets rallied on Thursday after U.S. stocks enjoyed their strongest session this year when the Federal Reserve sounded upbeat on the economy and promised to be patient in removing policy stimulus.
 
Nikkei has gained close to 2.5%, Hang Seng index is up around 1% while Shanghai Composite is marginally down by 0.1%.
 
Wall Street rebounded after three days of declines after the Fed said it would adopt a "patient" approach to raising interest rates. Dow Jones Industrial Average gained around 1.7% while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices gained over 2% each.

US consumer prices recorded their biggest drop in nearly six years in November as gasoline prices tumbled, but that did not change views the Federal Reserve would start raising interest rates in mid-2015.

Stocks to watch
 
ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda are in focus as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalties on these banks for violating Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering norms.
 
Coal India may come under pressure as all the five trade unions of  the company - which has a work force of 3,50,000 - have served a notice declaring their intention to go on strike from January 6 through January 10.

HUL may come under pressure as Goldman Sachs has downgraded its shares to sell.
 
Power Grid Corporation is in focus as the government has awarded it a critical power transmission corridor project, connecting power-starved southern states to thermal power rich, western India.

L&T is in focus after Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has completed its initial Rs 1,000-crore investment in Larsen & Toubro Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL). The two companies had signed an agreement in June and the investment was concluded on Tuesday.
 
Cipla is in focus as Swiss drugmaker Novartis has sued the company for infringing patents covering its respiratory drug Onbrez, a month after Cipla launched a copy at a fifth of the original drug's price.

Adani Group stocks  are in focus after its Australian subsidiary on Wednesday said it has signed an MOU with a South Korean steel giant for the construction of a new strategic terminal at Abbot Point coal port to export high-quality coal globally at competitive rates.