Market to stay rangebound

The market is expected to stay rangebound, with mixed cues coming from global markets.

Asian stocks were trading on a mixed note, with Nippon Oil leading energy-share gains on a rebound in crude oil prices, while BHP Billiton and other mining shares advanced after industrial- and precious-metal prices rose. Japan's Nikkei was down 64.63 points or 0.36% at 17,769.85 and South Korea's Seoul Composite lost 0.12% at 1,714.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 0.23% at 20,662.96), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.36% at 3,558.26) and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.09% at 8,346.25) gained.

In the US markets, stocks finished a volatile session without much change as stubbornly high bond yields discouraged investors from extending Wall Street's recovery from last week's steep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 0.57 point to 13,424.96, capping a day of trading that saw stocks slip, advance, and then pull back again. Broader stock indicators were narrowly mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.45 points to 1,509.12, and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.39 points to 2,572.15.

As per provisional data, FIIs were net equity sellers to the tune of Rs 26.12 crore while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net equity buyers worth Rs 237.12 crore on 12 June 2007.

Oil prices dipped but held above $69 on 12 June 2007, as an expected rise in gasoline stockpiles in the United States weighed against OPEC supply curbs and worries over Iran's nuclear dispute. London Brent crude was down 15 cents at $69.41 a barrel, after rising 87 cents on the previous day.

Over the next few days, the progress of the July-September monsoon will hold key. The weather office said in April 2007 that this year’s monsoon was likely to be 95% of the long-term average, with a 5% margin of error. The annual monsoon is vital for India’s economic health as it is the main source of water for agriculture, which generates more than a fifth of the gross domestic product.