Pre-market: Cues for trade today

Check out the factors that are likely to impact the sentiment today, including the stocks that you should keep a tab on

Markets are likely to trade on a cautious note ahead of the results season. Soft cues from global markets may weigh on investor sentiment.

US stocks edged lower on Wednesday amid growing fears over slowing global growth and ahead of what many expect will be a weak earnings season. Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.81% at 13473. Nasdaq Composite was down 1.52%.

In Asia, Nikkei slipped as Standard & Poor's Corp cut its rating on Spain's long-term government bonds by two notches to BBB-, just one notch above junk status. The downgrade pushed the yen higher. Nikkei shed 39 points while Hang Seng tumbled over 100 points in trades. At 700 hrs IST the SGX Nifty was trading flat at 5665.

Back home, technical analysts suggest that the Nifty may seek support around 5,630-odd levels. In case, the index breaks below 5,630 we could see more weakness in the coming days. The momentum oscillators are in favour of the bears on the daily charts hence watch out for a possible breakdown.

However, in case the index sustains around 5,630, a pull-back to 5,750-odd levels cannot be ruled out. On Thursday, the Nifty is likely to seek support around 5,635-5,625, while face resistance around 5,665-5,675.


STOCKS TO WATCH

From individual stocks, PSU Banks would be in focus after global rating agency Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed its negative rating on seven public sector banks in India. The banks on which S&P has affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term issuer credit ratings include Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank,  Indian Bank, State Bank of India, Syndicate Bank and Union Bank of India.

L&T Finance Holdings Limited, the NBFC arm of the engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, today said it has successfully completed the acquisition of Indo Pacific Housing Finance Limited for Rs 110 crore.

Tata AIG General Insurance announced a strategic agreement with Axis Bank to act as its corporate agent for general insurance. Under the partnership, Tata AIG will offer general insurance products to Axis Bank customers. Axis Bank would be in focus today.

Cera Sanitaryware might come in limelight as it plans to further increase the production capacity of its sanitaryware products to 3 million pieces per annum at its plant near Ahmedabad.

Dish TV, on Wednesday unleashed an aggressive pricing scheme. By offering 70 channels in the basic tier free to its subscribers in the four metros, the company is likely to have triggered a price war in the digital TV segment. This could see the stock get back into limelight.