Pre-Market: Shares seen opening higher, Asia firm

Indian markets are expected to open higher tracking gains in Asian shares.

 

At 8:30AM, SGX Nifty traded 0.2 per cent higher at 6,122.

 

Analysts said Indian equities were vulnerable to shocks in the US because foreign institutional investors (FIIs) own a sizable chunk of stocks here. 

 

FIIs have pumped in close to Rs 4.2 lakh crore or $85 billion since January 2009.

 

Gobally, Asian shares nudged up higher. Nikkei added 1% while Shanghai was up 0.3%. 

 

US stocks gained on Wednesday on hopes that the debt cap would be raised, helping the country avert default. Ratings agency Fitch placed US debt on watch for a downgrade, which threatens the country's top credit rating. 

 

US indices — Dow Jones Industrial, S&P 500 and Nasdaq — were up one per cent at the time of going to print on Wednesday. Reaching a consensus on the debt deal is crucial for emerging markets, including India.

 

 

STOCKS TO WATCH

 

 

Etihad Airways is steering organisational revamp in Jet Airways, in which it is set to acquire 24 per cent stake. Two senior Etihad executives are likely to join the Jet Airways management team, in an apparent indication of the Abu Dhabi-based airline’s control over Jet.

 

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services provider, once again outshone rival Infosys in every respect in its financial performance in the quarter ended September 30.

 

In line with its strong show in recent times, the Mumbai-based company’s net profit grew 33.9 per cent over that in the same period last year to Rs 4,702 crore, according to IFRS accounting standards. The revenues, backed by some strong deals and broad-based growth from almost all industry verticals and geographies, surged 34.3 per cent to Rs 20,977.24 crore on a year-on-year basis.