Market may take cue from continued recovery in Asia

The market may edge higher with most Asian markets hovering in the green on Thursday extending their recovery from a recent steep fall that was triggered by steepling losses for Chinese stocks and jitters about the health of the US economy. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan were up by between 0.09% to 0.8%.

US stocks ended with modest losses on Wednesday, hurt by persistent concerns about slower growth and weakness in the housing market, amid a diminishing appetite for risk. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.14, or 0.12 percent, to 12,192.45. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 3.44 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,391.97 and the Nasdaq composite index lost 10.50 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,374.64.

Back home, high volatility characterized Wednesday’s trading when Sensex ended with a fall of 117 points, having recouped its losses from an intra-day 300-point decline.

Foreign funds sold nearly $600 million worth of India stocks in the five trading sessions ending Tuesday (6 March 2007). As per provisional data, FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 28 crore on Wednesday, the day when Sensex had lost 117 points in volatile trade

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 749 crore in index-based futures on Wednesday. They were net buyers to the tune of Rs 335 crore in individual stock futures on that day.

Oil was steady at $61.82 a barrel after surging 2 percent a day earlier on falling US crude stocks