Pre- market: Markets likely to open lower

Mahindra & Mahindra is likely to be under pressure as the company said that it will observe no production days at two tractor plants.

Markets are likely to open in the negative territory on account of weakness in global markets along with the ongoing political worries in the country. At 7am IST, the SGX Nifty was down 23 points at 5,718.

Overnight,the S&P 500 fell for a third day on Tuesday but pared losses late in the day after the parliament of Cyprus rejected a proposed tax on bank deposits.

Rejection of the tax, which was a condition of a European bailout, eased worries that savers will begin withdrawing funds. At the same time, it left efforts to rescue the country - the latest casualty of the euro-zone debt crisis - up in the air.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 0.03%, to 14,456 at the close.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.24%, to finish at 1,548. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.26%, to close at 3,229.

Asian shares extended losses on Wednesday and investors gave the euro a wide berth after a bailout deal for Cyprus was thrown into disarray.

The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 0.3%, extending a 1.7% slide on Tuesday.

South Korean shares lost 0.3% while Nikkei up 2 pct as exporters logged in gains.

STOCKS TO WATCH

Mahindra & Mahindra is likely to be under pressure as the company said that it will observe no production days at two tractor plants.

SAIL will be in spotlight as a crucial meeting of an inter-ministerial panel on disinvestment of government's 10.82% stake will be held today.