Market to track weak global equities

The cues from the global markers are weak. In the past, local bourses have been very closely tracking global markets.

Asian stocks were down sharply in early trading today, 8 June 2007, with Japan's Nikkei Average plunging as much as 326 points as blue chips Sony Corp. and Mazda Motors declined after US and European stocks on Thursday, 7 June 2007, traded lower on concerns over rising global interest rates and surging bond yields in the US.

Japan's Nikkei plunged 296.59 points or 1.64% at 17,756.79. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 1.29% at 20,531.85), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 0.73% at 8,294.28), Singapore's Straits Times (down 1.33% at 3,499.01) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 1.55% at 1,725.8), all edged lower.

Wall Street fell sharply for a third straight session yesterday, 7 June 2007, after rising bond yields deflated hopes for an interest rate cut later in the year. The Dow Jones slumped 198.94 points, or 1.48%, to 13,266.73, bringing its three-day loss to about 410 points. It was the biggest three-session decline since stock markets began a short-lived pullback on 27 February, 2007. All 30 stocks in the blue chip average lost ground Thursday.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 26.66 points, or 1.76%, to 1,490.72, and the Nasdaq Composite index slipped 45.80 points, or 1.77%, to 2,541.38.

As per provisional figures, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 287.17 crore on 8 June while Domestic Institutional Investors were net buyers worth Rs 283.81 crore on that day.