Pre Market: Tata group shares, Infosys, Bharti Airtel in focus

Here are some stocks you need to keep a tab on for today

Markets are likely to open on a flat note tracking a mixed trend on the Asian bourses as investors remain wary ahead of the US job report. However, corporate earnings and stock specific action are likely to dictate the trend on the exchanges later during the day.

The early indicator SGX Nifty is quoting at 8,728.50 down by 0.14%.

"On Thursday, the Nifty opened on a positive note and managed to trade in-line with the 8,750 mark till pre-lunch hours which was followed by a sharp spurt to push the index above the 8,800 levels to reach its intraday high of 8,838. However, the bulls once again failed to maintain their grip as the index snapped its gains to end in the negative territory for the fifth consecutive session with the loss of 12 points forming a Gravestone doji on daily chart. It has been making the formation of lower lows from the last four sessions," points out a note from Anand Rathi research.

"On the lower side, the index has breached the 8,700 levels recording an intraday low of 8,683 for the first time since 21 January 2015. Now, till it doesn’t negate this formation by not making any new lows, weakness may continue towards next major support of 8,626 levels. On upside if it sustains above 8,800 levels, only then buying interest would emerge towards crucial hurdle of 8,840 zone. Traders are suggested to trade cautiously as market is expected to be volatile ahead of upcoming corporate result and Union Budget 2015," it adds.

GLOBAL MARKETS:

Asian equities were mixed on Friday ahead of the closely-watched US jobs report while apprehension about Greece's bailout program also weighed on sentiment.

Higher oil prices were a bright spot for Asian traders; Brent and US crude traded above USD 50 a barrel after rallying 5% overnight. Friday's non-farm payrolls (NFP) report is expected to show the creation of 234,000 jobs in January, according to a Reuters survey of economists, versus 252,000 jobs in December. Major US indices rallied 1 percent on Thursday ahead of the release.

On Wall Street on Thursday, major indexes all ended with gains of 1 percent or more, and a corresponding rise in U.S. Treasury yields underpinned the U.S. dollar's lift against rivals.

STOCKS TO WATCH: 

Struggling Indian operations and slowing sales of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) weighed on the consolidated performance of Tata Motors, India’s biggest automobile manufacturer, with the company’s net profit for the December 2014 quarter missing estimates by a huge margin. Though a few one-offs impacted profits during the quarter, profits at the operating and net levels would have been lower than Street expectations.

Tata Steel and NMDC are due to post its Q3 results later during the day.

Infosys BPO today has secured an IT services deal with Dutch insurance services firm a.s.r. for supporting back-office operations. Infosys has undertaken an organisational realignment to ensure stronger effectiveness of the "new & renew" strategy laid out by chief executive officer Vishal Sikka.

Reliance Communications signed a multi-million dollar deal with Avaya under which the technology solutions provider will transform the telecom major's existing call centre operations. 

Indian Overseas Bank, a state-run lender, reported its second straight quarterly loss on Thursday as bad loans surged, sending its shares down as much as 10 percent. UCO Bank and Allahabad Bank, two other state-run lenders that reported quarterly results on Thursday, also saw their bad loan ratios widening, leading to a fall in their share prices. 

Tyre maker Ceat on Thursday reported an increase of 32.50 per cent in standalone net profit at Rs 80.63 crore for the third quarter that ended on December 31, 2014.

Orange SA has explored various acquisitions in Africa, including assets owned by Bharti Airtel Ltd, as the French company seeks to bolster its business in the region, according to people.