Pre-Market: Soft opening seen

Global cues firm

Stock markets are likely to open flat with a positive bias as major Asian indices were trading firm in early trades

Major US share indices ended flat in overnight range bound trades as weak earnings and the election overhang continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat at 13,346, S&P 500 ended at 1,434 and Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.4 per cent.

Stocks in Asia were trading in a narrow range with a positive bias as investors remained cautious tracking lacklustre cues from US markets. The Nikkei was trading 0.1 per cent higher.

According to technical experts, the Nifty continues to see-saw around its 20-day Daily Moving Average. Select momentum oscillators like the MACD, RSI and Stochastic Slow have given a positive divergence; hence expect an up move in the near term. However, the broader trend remains range-bound until the NSE index breaks out of 5,620-5,770 range. On Tuesday, the Nifty is likely to seek support around 5,695-5,675, while face resistance around 5,740-5,755.

Among individual stocks, L&T may extend gains after the engineering major on Monday reported a better-than-expected 42 per cent
year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 1,137 crore in the September quarter.

Corporates which reported strong earnings growth after market hours on Monday include Indiabulls Financial Services, Merck and Syndicate Bank.

Idea Cellular will be in focus after it reported over two-fold rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 240 crore for the September 30 quarter.

Cairn India counter will witness action as it has more than tripled its net profit in September quarter to Rs 2,322.18 crore on the back
of higher production, and will consider its maiden dividend payout on October 31.

Among the major companies that are scheduled to announced their second quarter earnings later today include Hero MotoCorp, Sterlite
Industries (India) and Lupin.