BSE Sensex to open weak, Maruti in focus

The BSE Sensex is expected to drop early on Tuesday in line with lower Asian peers, after a spate of recent weak U.S. data raised concerns about a bearish global economy and pulled down global markets.

Top carmaker Maruti Suzuki will be in focus after workers went on strike on Saturday at its plant in Haryana, disrupting production.

The MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan was down 0.66 percent by 0305 GMT, while Japan's Nikkei was trading marginally higher.

The Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were trading down 0.5 percent, indicating a weak opening for the domestic market.

The S&P 500 index in New York extended its slide to a fourth day on Monday, hitting its lowest level since March 18, after a series of sluggish U.S. data in recent weeks.

The BSE Sensex snapped a two-day fall on Monday and ended 0.24 percent higher as a drop in global crude oil prices eased worries over the impact of high domestic inflation.

STOCKS TO WATCH

* Ambuja Cements Ltd after the cement maker said it had bought an 85 percent stake in Nepal's Dang Cement Industries for about 191 million rupees.

* Aptech Ltd after a source told Reuters the software education services provider is planning to announce a strategic tie-up with the United Nations Information Centre.

* Atlanta Ltd after the construction firm said it had received an order worth 1.8 billion rupees for a project to widen and reconstruct roads in Madhya Pradesh.

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra and Manasi Phadke; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)