Pre-market: Positive trades likely ahead of Friday's IIP data

Watch out for Lupin, HDFC, ABB and IT shares in trades today

The markets are likely trade with a positive bias today, in line with global peers. Traders will also be fine tuning their positions ahead of the macroeconomic triggers such as the consumer price index and industrial production data due on Friday, followed by wholesale inflation data on Monday.

Nifty is likely to seek support around 6020-5990 and may face hurdle around 6100-6130, technical analysts suggest.

The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a fifth day on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also ended at a record high for a second straight day, pushing further above 15,000.

Encouraging global data and Wall Street’s extended record run underpinned Asian shares on Thursday, with Japanese stocks leading the way to within striking distance of fresh five-year highs. The Nikkei stock average rose 0.7 per cent and MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 per cent.

At 705 am Indian Standard Time, the SGX Nifty was trading at 6,109, up 0.4 per cent.

Back home, among individual stocks, Lupin will react to the nearly three-fold increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 408 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2013.

HDFC, ABB, SKS Microfinance and KEC International are some of the  other stocks that will react to their March quarter numbers.

US-based IT firm Oracle plans to sell 5.3 per cent stake in Oracle Financial Services Software (OFSS) to meet the regulatory requirements.

Also keep a tab on Asian Paints, HCL Infosystems, Jubilant FoodWorks,  NDTV, PNB and Union Bank as these companies will announce their respective March quarter results.