Markets may open volatile; oil & gas shares in focus

Benchmark indices are likely to open on a volatile note amid the decline in select Asian markets which came under pressure on weak macro-data from China. Meanwhile, further decline in crude prices below the level of $80 a barrel will keep oil and gas shares in focus.

Earlier, the government on Thursday raised excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 a litre each to help it achieve the fiscal deficit target for this year.

On Thursday, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 690.61 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Global Markets

Trading with a gain of around 0.2%, Nikkei has retreated from the seven-year high mark as investors turn cautious ahead of the release of GDP data. Earlier, the index had gained close to 0.7% amid election speculation and weakness in yen.

Chinese stocks are under pressure after the factory output data from China came below expectations. Shanghai Composite has declined around 0.3%. However, Hang Seng has gained around 0.3%

In US markets, Dow Jones Industrial closed at record high with a gain of around 0.2% boosted by strong results of Walmart Retail. However, S&P 500 ended flat dragged by energy shares and Nasdaq Composite closed with a gain of 0.1%

Stocks to watch

DLF shares will be in focus as the country's largest real estate player has posted a 9% jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 109 crore for the quarter ended September on the back of higher sales. It had reported a net profit of Rs 100 crore in the same quarter the previous year.

Tata Motors may come under pressure after the company reported a 7.7% decline in its global sales numbers for the month of October.

Cipla will come under pressure after reporting a 16.6% decline in its profits after tax numbers in the second quarter of 2015 fiscal.

Tata Power shares may come under pressure as the company’s revenue has declined on lower revenue generation from stand-alone power businesses, according to its July-September quarter results. Consolidated revenue was down 4% to Rs 8394 crore due to shutdown of a unit in company's Trombay plant and lower realisation in its coal business. Interest cost rose 22% to Rs 980 crore from Rs 803 crore in second quarter of last fiscal.

HPCL shares may witness fresh buying as the company has come up with strong results for Q2.