Pre-market: Cautious opening on cards

The Indian markets are likely to open on a cautious note tracking global cues and can give up some of the gains made in trade on Friday.

US stocks edged lower on Friday as investors took a breather from a powerful rally that propelled the S&P to close above its 200-day moving average for the first time since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.64 points, or 0.18%, at 12,186.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 5.93 points, or 0.46%, at 1,278.66.

Asian markets are trading in the neative zone. Hang Seng has slipped 0.25% to 19,969. Straits Times, Seoul Composite and Taiwan Weighted have dropped 0.2-0.8% each. Nikkei, however, is up 0.5% at 9,096.

Last week benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex closed on a positive note, higher by more than 6% on a week on week basis. The rally was led by sectors like metals and realty which gained more than 9% and 8%, respectively.

“The Sensex may target 18,100-odd levels in the short-term. Further ahead, the index is likely to face considerable resistance around 18,400 – 18,500 levels,” analysts say. At 730 am Indian Standard Time, the SGX Nifty was trading flat at 5388, up 3.5 points.

Wipro has reported Q2 net profit at Rs 1,301 crore a while ago. COnsolidated revenue stands at Rs 9,094 cr. The IT major has sees IT revenues to be at $1.5 -1.53 billion. The stock is likely to be in the buzzer today.

Among individual stocks, the markets are likely to react to Maruti Suzuki’s September 2011 quarter net profit that saw a 59.81% decline to 240.44 crore.

Tata Global Beverages reported a 49% increase in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September 30 to 77 crore versus 61.8 crore reported last year. This is likely to bring the stock in limelight today.

Also keep a tab on Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Dabur India and B-P-C-L as they announce their respective September 2011 quarter results today.