Stocks set to begin lower

Headlines for the day:
Direct tax code gets Cabinet nod
Tata Power may buy 50% stake in InterGen
Mumbai-based firm to form JV for gas logistics

Events for the day:
Major corporate action
Ex-date for stock split of Lupin
Ex-date for final dividend of National Aluminium Co
For more events and news, log on to Sharekhan.com
Updates on global events
The US continuing claims for the week ended August 142010 stood at 4,456,000 as compared to 4,518,000 seen in the previous week.
The US initial claims for the week ended August 21, 2010 stood at 473,000 as compared to 504,000 seen in the previous week.
Pre-market report
Global signals
The European shares bounced back on Thursday (August 26, 2010) from a five-week closing lows a day earlier helped by encouraging company results and soothing economic numbers, though the rally appeared fragile as volumes remained thin.
The US stocks sagged on Thursday and the Dow closed below 10,000 a day ahead of an expected downward revision in US second-quarter economic growth and a major speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
The Asian markets were trading lower, following the overnight Wall Street losses. SGX Nifty was trading 12 points lower, suggesting to have a negative start on the Indian bourses.
Indian Indices
The Indian markets rebounded in the previous session after two-day of heavy losses. However, the Sensex and the Nifty have lost 176 and 52 points in their last four trading sessions of the week on global economic worries.
Going into today's session, the Indian markets may be dragged lower at the start on account of unhealthy global cues. The negative news pouring from the global markets on concerns over the global economic recovery may keep the investors cautious and sideway trend is expected to continue.
Commodity cues
The oil advanced for a second day on Thursday after a modest improvement in US jobs data eased some concerns about the economy, as the crude oil futures for October delivery rose by $0.84, to settle at $73.36 a barrel.
Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were in selling mode as they sold Indian equities worth a net of Rs290.40 crore on August 26, 2010, as compared to the net buyers of Rs903.30 crore on August 25, 2010.