The markets are likely to extend yesterday's gains which surfaced during the latter part of the trading session. Positive cues from the Asian peers are also expected to add to the positive sentiment. The Singapore Nifty is trading at 5,089 - up 21 points.
Meanwhile, US markets succumbed to losses on Tuesday but closed well above the day's lowest levels. The US markets extended last week's losses as uncertainty over Europe's health resurfaced. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11, 139, down 101 points, while the S&P 500 lost 9 points to close at 1,165. The Nasdaq composite shed 6 points at 2,474.
The Asian markets are trading in the positive zone this morning with the Nikkei up 1.4% at 8,714. Seoul Composite has surged 2.5% to 1,810. Taiwan Weighted, Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite have all added around 0.5% each.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Institutional Investors were net buyers of Rs 432 crore in cash and the Domestic Institutional Investors were net sellers of Rs 415 crore.
In the derivatives segment, FIIs were net buyers of 602 crore. They were net sellers of 1,078 crore in the index futures and buyers of Rs 1,173 crore in index options. They also bought shares worth Rs 507 crore in the stock futures and Rs 44 lakh in stock options.
The markets are likely to further react to US President Barrack Obama's speech to the Congress, due on Thursday, highlighting ways to boost hiring. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to discuss the nation's economic outlook on the same day, in Minnesota.
"If the Nifty sustains above the 5080 level for couple of hours, we may see the index moving towards 5130-5140 levels. Crucial resistance is seen at 5240 levels, short term reversal can only be set if Nifty closes above this level. On the downside, now 5000 acts as psychological support below which it seeks support at 4950-4930 levels," Ashish Chaturmohta, IIFL Private Wealth.
NTPC, Tata Power would be in the limelight today. DLF would also be watched closely as the realty major is planning to move the Competition Appellate Tribunal by early next week, to appeal against the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order imposing a Rs 630-crore penalty on the firm.
IT stocks listed on the Nasdaq underperformed because of the prevalent weakness in the the US and European markets. Indian IT ADRs were the top losers as Patni Computers, Genpack and Infosys were down 1-4% each. Tata Motors and HDFC bank were among the gainers, up 2% and 1.2%, respectively.
