Market to consolidate at higher level

The Market is expected to consolidate at higher levels after a recent rally. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 21.40 points, or 0.14%, to 15,289.82, on Tuesday, 17 July 2007. It surged to strike an all-time high of 15,440.20 on that day.

Asian markets moved lower today, 18 July 2007, with Japanese shares declining sharply on electricity producer Tokyo Electric Power Co. and insurers such as Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. in the wake of a powerful earthquake that hit northern Japan on Monday, 16 July 2007. Japan's Nikkei tumbled 1.14% or at 18,009.91.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng (down 0.55% at 22,931.44) and Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.38% at 3,637.29) also edged lower. However, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted gained 0.45%, or 42.57 points, to 9,552.30.

Shares surged on Wall Street on Tuesday, 17 July 2007, with the Dow hitting 14,000 for the first time as several blue-chip companies reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The Dow Jones rose 20.57 points, or 0.15%, to close at 13,971.55. Broader stock indicators ended mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.15 points, or 0.01%, to 1,549.37 having set its own record highs in recent sessions. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 14.96 points, or 0.55%, to 2,712.29.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 359.06 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 164.93 crore on Tuesday, 17 July 2007.