Pre-market: Markets may open higher on firm Asian cues

Benchmark share indices are likely to open higher amid firm Asian cues. Stocks in Asia were marginally up in early trades.

At 7:30AM Indian Standard Time the SGX Nifty was up 34 points at 6,239.

Key US share indices ended marginally higher on Friday as robust earnings from major corporates such as Google and Morgan Stanley boosted sentiment. Google's stock price breached the $1,000 mark for the first time amid better-than-expected third quarter earnings. Google finally ended the session on Friday at $1,044.41 on the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 28 points, or 0.2%, to end at 15,399.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed 11.35 points, or 0.7% higher, at 1,744.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 51.13 points or 1.3%, to end the session at 3,914.28.

Key European share indices also ended higher on Friday tracking gains in the US markets with France's CAC-40 gaining the most. The CAC-40 gained 1.1%, DAX rose 0.6% while the FTSE-100 ended 0.7% higher

STOCKS TO WATCH

UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement maker, fell short of Street expectations for the quarter ended September, with poor demand and low prices taking a toll on the company.

The company recorded a net profit of just Rs 264 crore, 52 per cent lower than the Rs 550 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Analysts had estimated net profit at Rs 350-400 crore.

Among other shares, India's largest mortgage lender HDFC and paints company Asian Paints will be in action ahead of their second quarter earnings later today.