Here's what to expect from the Markets today

The Nifty may remain sideways and consolidate at 2-week highs on Friday as traders avoid long positions ahead of the weekend and try to preserve this week's meagre gains.

The SGX Nifty points to a 28 point drop at opening for Nifty futures today.

Global cues are weak. Major Indices in the US fell between 0.7-1.8 percent on Wednesday. The trend was bearish in European equities too with top indices slipping between 0.1-0.7 percent. The commodity space remains muted. Gold Futures slipped for the 5th day, to fresh 5-1/2 year lows; Oil Futures were marginally higher. The metals complex remains under bear control. And stocks in Japan are a bit lower but those in China and Hong Kong are trading with minor upticks on Friday.

The Nifty Index closed at 8,588 points, up 20 points, on Thursday, resuming its upward journey and closing near the highest level since July 23rd. Traders preferred mid caps yesterday. The Nifty's support levels have moved up to 8,550-8,500 levels while the resistance continues to be seen at the 8,637 point level.

The sentiment remains mixed in the cash market. Foreign Institutional Investors totalled net buys of `109 crores on Wednesday, their 4th day of purchases. Net sales of domestic institutions tallied at `112 crores. The derivatives space saw some positives. Traders made net purchases worth 266 crore rupees for Index Futures; Net sales of 50 crore rupees for Stock Futures; Purchases of `854 crore rupees for Index options and net sales of 125 crore rupees for Stock Options.

Today's major earnings are from BHEL, M&M, Grasim and Tata Motors among top stocks. Major delivery-based buying was seen in State Bank of India, LIC Housing Finance.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

MOTHERSON SUMI: Barclays raises target to `410 from `400.

EMAMI: Credit Suisse raises target to `1520 from `1220

EARNINGS WATCH: Trent, Talwalkars, SRF, Fortis Healthcare and Bombay Dyeing.

Image credit: Indiatimes