Pre-Market: Negative global cues to weigh

Markets are expected to open on a negative note tracking weak Asian shares.

Global risk appetite was frail as poor jobs data from US raised concerns over growth recovery in the world's largest economy.

At 0835AM IST, SGX Nifty was down 21 points at 5562.

Asian shares traded down in opening deals with Straits Times falling 0.4% to 3,307. However, Japan's Nikkei average jumped more than 4 percent to break above the 13,000-mark for the first time since August 2008 after the Bank of Japan's massive stimulus measures.

Overnight, in the US, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits hit a four-month high last week, suggesting the labour market recovery lost some steam in March.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 55.76 points, or 0.38 percent, at 14,606.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 6.29 points, or 0.40 percent, at 1,559.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.38 points, or 0.20 percent, at 3,224.98.

The U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due later in the session will likely show employers added 200,000 jobs last month after hiring 236,000 workers in February. The unemployment rate is seen steady at a four-year low of 7.7 percent.

Following stocks are expected to move today:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved a proposal to abolish the levy-sugar mechanism, under which private millers have to sell a specified quantity of the sweetener to the government at concessional rates.

Piramal Healthcare said it planned to offload its 11 per cent stake in telecom major Vodafone India, and was well on track to do so.

Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector lender, has increased interest rates on select retail term deposits by 30 basis points (bps), according to people familiar with the development.