Pre-market: Cautious opening on cards

Markets are likely to open on a cautious note this morning, taking cues from global bourses.

The US markets finished near session highs, with the Dow posting another record closing high and the S&P 500 within 1 percent of its 2007 peak, as investors shrugged off earlier worries over disappointing economic data from China and weakness in Europe. The Dow ended up three points at 14450. Nasdaq slipped 11 poimts at 3242.

In Asia this morning markets were mostly in red. Nikke, Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted are down around half a per cent each. Shanghai Composite has slipped 1% at 2,286. At 630 hrs IST the SGX Nifty was down 22 points at 5,912.

In individual shares, watch out for HUL. The FMCG major has put on the block about two dozen apartments and land parcels in posh localities in cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, which are expected to fetch over Rs 100 crore to the company.

Also watch out for Oil Marketing Companies. According to reports, the state-run oil marketing companies have agreed, in-principle, to share their storage facilities to feed Asia's largest terminal at New Delhi.

Reliance Industries, the country’s largest company, is expanding investment in its telecom and retail businesses by up to Rs 6,500 crore a year for the next five years, beginning April 1. This might bring the stock into focus.

ABB has expanded its solar inverters production capacity by opening a production line in India to support the rapidly growing local photovoltaic (PV) market.