Market to start lower tracking weakness in Asia

Moneycontrol BureauIndian shares are likely to start in the red, following losses in Asian equities, after the Japanese 'tankan' manufacturing confidence index came in worse than expected, even as the Chinese PMI beat forecasts.At the time of writing, the SGX Nifty in Singapore was down 0.54 percent, or 41.5 points, to 7,746.Tokyo was trading over 2 percent down while Shanghai and Hong Kong were off with minor losses.Volumes may be low globally today as traders stay on the sidelines ahead of the key non-farm payrolls data expected in the US later today.In asset classes, the US Dollar Index hit a five-month low, crude slipped marginally while gold held steady.Locally, stocks will also take cues from a surge in M&A activity, after UltraTech acquired 9 of JP's cement assets for close to Rs 16,000 crore.Manufacturing output also saw an uptick, with the eight 'core' sector index rising 5.7 percent in February, data released yesterday showed.Auto stocks will be in focus today as companies start declaring their monthly sales data starting today.HCL Tech shares may also witness action after a Business Standard report said the company is likely to acquire Geometric Software for about USD 150-200 million in a share swap deal.