The Indian markets are expected to open lower on Monday taking cues from overseas bourses, including the US stock market, which closed with losses on Friday.
Given the positive bias, thanks to heavy buying by the foreign institutional investors, the Sensex ended higher for the sixth straight week, up 0.8 per cent at 17,749.
Analysts feel the rally in the market has been too sharp to sustain much longer and investors should utilise the opportunity to book profits. A break of 17,560 could trigger an intermediate correction to at least 16,800-odd levels for the Sensex, technical analysts suggest.
Among individual stocks, Tata Power could be in limelight today on reporting a 40.7 per cent drop in consolidated the December quarter net profit.
RIL’s gas output from its flagship K-G-D-6 gas fields may see a further decline till new wells are tied in for production, reports suggest. This could see the stock come under some pressure in trade today.
DLF could also remain under pressure on account of a 45 per cent drop in the December quarter net. The company and its subsidiaries have received an additional tax notice of 1,137 crore for the 2009-10 assessment year.
Pantaloon Retail is another stock likely to be in focus on reports that the company is considering options for restructuring and divestment to cut debt and consolidate business.