Pre-market: Five stocks to watch out in trade today

Markets are likely to open lower tracking weak global cues and ahead of August WPI data

Markets are likely to open lower, amid weak global cues, as weak industrial growth in July is likely to weigh on investor sentiment.

The early indicator SGX Nifty was down 50 points at 8,083.

Stocks on Monday will react to tepid July IIP growth and lower retail inflation figures released after markets closed Friday. Inflation data based on wholesale price index (WPI) for August is expected to be released later today.

Markets will also take cues from the US Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy review which starts on Tuesday.

Asian markets because of weak data from China and tracking losses on Wall Street on Friday. Meanwhile, markets in Japan are closed on Monday on account of public holiday.

China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.6%, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.4%, Hang Seng was sharply lower by 0.8%.

US markets ended lower on Friday weighed down by profit taking in shares of energy companies tracking weakness in crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the US Federal Reserve will hold its two-day policy meet starting Tuesday. Further, encouraging US retail sales and consumer sentiment data on Friday raised concerns that the Federal Bank could raise interest rates sooner than expected.

The Dow Jone ended down 61 points at 16,987.51, the S&P 500 slipped 12 points at 1,985.54 and tech-laden Nasdaq closed 24 points lower at 4,567.60.

Stocks to watch

Multinational American drug maker Gilead Sciences was set to join hands with at least five Indian generic pharmaceutical companies and allow them to manufacture and sell cheaper versions of its new hepatitis C medicines - sofosbuvir and ledipasvir - in 90 countries, four people in the know told Business Standard.

Among the companies likely to sign deals with Gilead are Cadila, Hetero, Strides Arcolab and Mylan, while Cipla is expected to earn active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) rights.

Wockhardt Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on September 15, 2014, inter alia, to consider and approve amalgamation of two wholly owned subsidiaries viz Wockhardt Biopharm Limited and Vinton Healthcare Limited with Wockhardt Limited.

SAIL will be in under pressure after the process for the 5% stake sale by the government will commence this week.

Drug major Zydus Cadila has set a target of clocking a consolidated turnover of over Rs 10,000 crore by FY'16. The Ahmedabad-based company has planned a capital expenditure of Rs 450 crore this fiscal. It has presence in the US, the European Union, Brazil, Mexico and exports generate half the revenue.

Bajaj Electricals Ltd has informed BSE that the Engineering & Project Business Unit of the Company has bagged 8 (eight) new orders for Rural Electrification work in Jabalpur District from Madhya Pradesh Purva Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Ltd and in Bhopal District from Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Company Ltd., under Rajiv Gandhi Gram Vikas Yojana, aggregating to Rs.518.46 crore.