Pre-market: Cautious opening on cards

Markets are likely to open on a cautious note this morning, taking cues from global bourses. All eyes are now on the RBI policy review slate d for March 19, 2013.

Wall Street started Wednesday little changed after enthusiasim over surprisingly strong retail sales was tempered somewhat by investors taking a pause after the recent rally. The Dow ended up five points at 14455.

In Asia this morning markets were mostly in red. Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng have slipped around 1% in morning trades. Nikkei, however, has banaged to trade in green at 12,290 - up 0.5%. At 630 hrs IST the SGX Nifty was unchanged at 5,872.

In individual shares, watch out for MRPL as the company has said that it is no longer interested in buying out the West Bengal Government's share in Haldia Petrochemicals.

The Supreme Court has disposed of petitions filed by a telecom industry body and Idea Cellular Ltd, which sought cancellation of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL)’s GSM licences and inclusion of its spectrum in auctions. This might bring shares of Tata Tele in focus.

Emami may come into the limelight as sources have said that the company is planning to soon shift their operational headquarters out of Kolkata.

Maruti Suzuki India is likely to begin construction of its Gujarat plant in the first quarter of the next fiscal, and is awaiting a final nod in the upcoming board meeting in April.