Pre-market: Global cues likely to drag markets

Markets are likely to see a soft opening once again. Global stock markets tumbled on Monday as renewed doubts about the euro zone's debt crisis plan last week put an abrupt end to their October rally.

A stronger dollar following Japan's intervention to weaken the yen also stoked selling in equities, commodities and other risky assets and buying in low-risk government bonds. On the domestic front, the markets will also react to a fall in core sector growth that hit a 30-month low. The eight crucial sectors, having a weight of almost 38 per cent in the I-I-P, grew by just 2.3 per cent in September year-on-year.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 276.10 points, or 2.26%, to 11,955.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 31.79 points, or 2.47%, to 1,253.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 52.74 points, or 1.93%, to 2,684.41.

Asian markets are trading weak this morning. The Hang Seng slipped 2% to 19,475. Nikkei was down 0.7% at 8,920. n a sign that Europe's woes were far from over, Italian and Spanish bond yields soared, prompting the European Central Bank to buy the debt, while shares of European banks came under heavy selling pressure. The SGX Nifty is trading flat at 5,346.

On Monday, the Sensex ended at 17,705 - down 100 points. Nifty ended down 34 points at 5,326. Most of the sectoral indices ended in the red with oil & gas index leading the losses.

The stocks to watch out for today would be Reliance, NMDC and auto stocks. Reliance has put speculations to rest after denying reports of acquiring US-based Valero Energy Corp. NMDC reported a 42 per cent rise in its September 2011 quarter net profit at 1,963.15 crore. Auto and cement sales number are likely to come out later in the day. Both the sectors are likely to be in focus.