Indian shares likely to drop; Tata Steel watched

MUMBAI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Indian shares are expected
to open lower on Thursday as investors take profits after a
recent rally and await Greece's debt talks to reach a deal and
avoid a messy default.
The main BSE index has climbed 15 percent in just
over five weeks and the 14-day Relative Strength Index at
Wednesday's close was at 71.9, indicating the market was
overbought.
Neeraj Deewan, director of Quantum Securities, said the
market was headed for a correction, but strong demand from
foreign institutional investors would help stocks to rebound
later.
"There is scope for the market to go up further after some
profit booking of around 4-5 percent in the coming sessions," he
said.
Tech Mahindra, India's fifth-largest software
services company, may climb after it posted a
better-than-expected 7.4 percent rise in quarterly net profit
late on Wednesday.
Tata Steel Ltd, the world's No.7 steelmaker, will
be watched ahead of its December quarter results, expected after
market hours. Analysts on average estimate a 41 percent fall in
net profit to 5.6 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
Global markets were down as sentiment grew cautious after
Greek political leaders said talks would continue to resolve a
issue in the way of a deal on a bailout package, which is
crucial to avoiding a debt default.
The MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan
was down 0.6 percent by 0224 GMT, while Japan's
Nikkei fell 0.56 percent.
The Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were down
0.5 percent.
On Wednesday, the BSE index rose 0.5 percent to 17,707.32
points.

STOCKS TO WATCH
Thomas Cook India will be watched after its parent
Thomas Cook confirmed it planned to sell its 77 percent
stake in the Indian arm as it looks to bring down its debt of
890 million pounds.
Kalpataru Power may open down after it reported a
21 percent fall in its December quarter net profit.

FACTORS TO WATCH
* Indian rupee report
* Indian bond report
* Euro dips as Greece stops short of signing off deal
* Brent ends at 6-month high on Greek hopes
* Markets guarded as Athens strives to reach Deal
* Wall St ends flat; Cisco gains after the bell
* For closing rates of Indian ADRs
* For Foreign institutional investor flows
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Sanjeev Choudhary; Editing by
Ranjit Gangadharan)

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