Pre-market: Weak opening on the cards, global cues to weigh

The markets are expected to open weak following negative cues from the Asian and US markets. Global stocks closed their worst quarter in nearly three years on Friday on concerns about the world economy and the lack of a credible solution to Europe's debt crisis. The Singapore Nifty futures are at 4,849, down 82 points.

On Friday, US stocks dropped more than two per cent as signs of slower growth spanning China, Europe and the United States, and the ongoing Greek crisis, hung darkly over the markets. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 241 points to 10,913.38. The S&P 500 fell 29 points to 1,131.42. The Nasdaq Composite slid 66 points to 2,415.40.

Monday morning, most Asian markets are also trading in the negative over deepening concerns that the euro zone's debt crisis will dampen global growth. The Nikkei 225 is trading 2.3% lower at 8,504, the Hang Seng has shed 4.2% to 16,846 while the Shanghai Composite index is at 2,360, down 0.3%.

Back home, investors are opting to play it safe and may remain on the sidelines ahead of the quarterly results of India Inc, analysts say. “Technically the market is in a typical sideways zone with no sign of direction and a slide down to around 4,800 is a possibility. The Nifty faces stiff resistance at 5,037,” said Prakash Gaba, a technical analyst.

On Friday, the markets declined almost 2% due to selling in ADAG shares, roiled by 2G scam and also metal shares, after the cabinet cleared the new mining bill, calling for companies to share profits. The Nifty declined 72 points, at 4,943 and the Sensex lost 244 points, at 16,453.

Among individual stocks, Tata Power may be in the limelight today as it announced plans to raise funds by offloading a minority stake in core investments as well as the sale of non-core investments, among other measures, to finance its future projects.

Maruti Suzuki may remain in the buzz as it will resume the full scale production from the Manesar plant from today, as the 33-day long standoff with workers has ended. This development could help buoy the stock.

Other stocks to watch out for include Cairn India, NMDC and two-wheeler stocks.