Markets may notch gains in opening trades tracking positive cues from Asia. The Nifty futures from the Singapore Exchange advanced 45 points, at 4,790.
The Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3% and South Korea’s Kospi Composite jumped 2.8% following firm closing on Wall Street on Friday. However, China's Shanghai Composite declined 1.3% on reports that People’s Bank of China has increased the amount that the banks must set aside as reserves.
On Friday, the United States Federal Reserve refrained from introducing new measures to bolster the economy, but said that they would take actions to stimulate employment. The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher, over 1% each.
Back in India, analysts expect markets to be under pressure after Nifty broke 4,800 levels. The foreign Institutional Investors have sold shares over Rs 12,000 crore so far in August.
Markets will take cues from the first quarter GDP data expected on Tuesday as it will closely determine the likely action that the Reserve Bank of India will take to fight Inflation, which has remained stubbornly high around 9.8% for the week ended August 13. Economists fear that growth in the first quarter could slip below 8%.