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Markets are expected to open firm but gains may be capped on weak Asian shares.
Investors are likely to avoid long positions ahead of central bank's monetary policy next Tuesday amid lingering fear of hike in cash reserve ratio to curb liquidity and support staggering rupee.
According to technical charts,"The Nifty is likely to witness downward pressure. However, the index has near support at 5,885, and lower down around the 200-DMA at 5,850. In case, the index seeks support around these levels we could witness a bounce back to 6,000-odd levels in the next couple of trading sessions."
At 8:30AM IST, SGX Nifty was up 11 points at 5957.
Meanwhile Asian shares declined in early trades ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.
Among the key Asian indices, Japan’s Nikkei was down 1.6% to 14,328, Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.2% to 3,243 in the opening deals.
Overnight, US stocks ended mixed as disappointing earnings in the cyclical sector limited the gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13.37 points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 15,555.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 4.31 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,690.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 25.59 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,605.19.
Domestically, in the earnings calendar we have Aditya Birla Money, Bank of India, CESC, Dish TV India, Edelweiss Financial, Heidelbergcement, Hindustan Unilever, JK Lakshmi Cement, JSW Energy, Mcleod Russel, Nestle India, Tata Coffee, Tata Communication and Wipro set to unveil their first quarter results later today.
Following stocks are expected to move on the exchanges today:
Pune based Industrial energy solutions provider Thermax Limited has recorded a drop of 25% in its net profit at Rs 50.25 crore as compare to Rs 67.2 crore, last year due to fall in revenue and other income. It has also witnessed drop of 12% in the total income at Rs 862.8 crore as compared to Rs 983.2 crore last year.
Despite facing continued pressure on sales, which have been declining for months, the country's largest auto major Tata Motors today said it is thinking of raising prices before the forthcoming festive season.
Tyre major MRF Ltd today reported a 57.22% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 227.28 crore for the third quarter ended June 30.
State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd today reported 29% drop in June quarter net profit on lower margins from natural gas trading. Net profit in April-June quarter at Rs 808.17 crore was 28.7% lower than Rs 1,133.78 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said in a filing to the stock exchanges.
