Market to head higher

The market is expected to head higher, tracking strong global markets. Over the past few months, local bourses have been taking cues from global markets in the similar direction.

Asian stocks advanced today as exporters such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics advanced on positive US economic news, while Woodside Petroleum took its cues from rebounding energy prices after crude oil moved back above USD 66 a barrel in the US.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.77% at 20,737.57 while Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.66% at 17,849.39. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 1.02% at 8,431.70), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.87% at 3,582.12) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 1.63% at 1,750.09) also logged gains.

Wall Street rebounded smartly on 13 June 2007, as bond yields eased and economic data came in stronger than expected. The Dow saw its biggest point gain since 19 July 2006. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) jumped 187.34 points, or 1.41%, to 13,482.35, after bouncing around earlier in the session as investors weighed the possibility of rising interest rates. The index is still 193.97 points below its record close of 13,676.32 reached on 4 June 2007. Broader stock indicators also advanced sharply. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 22.67 points, or 1.52%, to 1,515.67, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 32.54 points, or 1.28%, to 2,582.31.

Crude oil rose 91 cents, to $66.26 a barrel, after a government report showed a smaller-than-expected gain in United States supplies of motor fuel last week.

As per provisional data, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 294.16 crore in equities, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 331.48 crore on 13 June 2007.