Pre-market: Shares to open lower amid weak Asian cues

Benchmark share indices are likely to open lower on Friday tracking weakness in their Asian peers.

 

At 7:30AM, the SGX Nifty was down 46 points at 6,143.

 

US share indices ended higher on Thursday after weak economic data suggested that the Fed may continue its monetary stimulus measures and robust earnings from select corporates boosted sentiment.

 

The Dow Jones ended 96 points at 15,509, the S&P 500 rose 6 points to close at 1,752 and the Nasdaq closed 22 points higher at 3,928.

 

Asian share indices were also trading lower. Stocks in Japan witnessed selling pressure after the Yen strengthened against the US dollar. The Nikkei was down 1.1%, the Hang Seng slipped 0.2%, Straits Times fell 0.1%. However,

the Shanghai Composite was trading with marginal gains.

 

 

Stocks in focus

 

Tata Sponge may be in focus after it  reported 28.8% dip in net profit at Rs 18.33 crore for the quarter ended September 30 mainly on lower total income. The company's net profit in the same quarter of the last fiscal was Rs 25.77 crore, the company said in a BSE filing.

 

Federal Bank may firm up after the private sector lender got FIPB approval for hiking foreign shareholding limit in the bank to 74%.

 

HDFC Bank may see some action after the country's second largest private sector lender raised $500 million from an overseas bond sale programme as part of its $2-billion medium-term bonds sale plan.

 

Essar Shipping may remain firm after its net loss narrowed to Rs 11.20 crore for the quarter ended September 30. It had 

reported net loss of Rs 35.99 crore for the second quarter last fiscal, Essar Shipping said in a statement.

 

Idea Cellular may see some action as increase in minutes of usage and improvement margins along with good growth in data, helped the mobile service provider post 86.5% increase in its net profits to Rs 447.6 crore from Rs 240 crore in the

 same quarter last year.

 

NMDC, India's largest iron ore producer reported a 21.5% fall in net profit to Rs 1,318.36 crore in the quarter ended 

September 2013, as compared with a net profit of Rs 1,678.62 crore posted during the corresponding quarter previous year.