Pre-market: SAIL, Axis Bank, Coal India, ONGC & Ranbaxy in focus

Benchmark indices may open marginally higher tracking the gains in their select Asian peers which have gained on expectations of positive US nonfarm payrolls report due later today.

At 8:20AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty was flat at 8,605.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 474 crore on Thursday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Despite losing around 0.2% Nikkei index has remained near 7-1/2 year highs on Friday as optimism on the U.S. economy helped investors shrug off a delay to hoped-for eurozone easing.

Hopes of stimulus measures from Chinese authorities have lifted Chinese stocks. Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices have gained 0.3% and 0.5% each

Overnight, US markets ended marginally lower after a volatile day of trading. Caution ahead of the release of US nonfarm payrolls data and losses in energy shares dragged the markets. Sentiments were also dampened on European Central Bank's decision to defer monetary stimulus measures till 2015 without any specific timelines. Dow Jones ended flat while S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices closed lower by 0.1% each.

Stocks to watch

SAIL will be in focus as today the government will kick-start its divestment process by selling its stake in the steel major. The floor price for disinvestment in Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will be set at Rs 83 a share, slightly lower than its closing price of Rs 83.35 on the BSE on Thursday, according to an exchange filing.

Axis Bank will be in focus as the bank has raised Rs 5,705 crore in infrastructure bonds in a single-largest closure since the instrument was introduced in July.

Coal India will be in focus as the government has asked the company to increase its gross output to one billion tonnes, double than the current levels, by 2020.

ONGC will be in focus on reports that its foreign arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) is likely to soon acquire stakes in two Russian oilfields, Vankor and Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye.

Infosys will be in focus after the future vision of the company was unveiled by company's CEO & MD, Vishal Sikka. On Thursday he provided a snapshot of initiatives the Bengaluru-based information technology (IT) company had taken to become a “next generation" services company and regain its bellwether status.

Ranbaxy may come under pressure as after Germany, European Union has barred exports of medicines from the company's unit at Madhya Pradesh.