Market to consolidate

The market is expected to consolidate at higher levels. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 38.50 points, or 0.25%, to 15,311.22, an all time closing high, on Monday, 16 July 2007. It also rallied to strike a lifetime high of 15,341.38 on the same day.

Asian markets were mixed today, 17 July 2007, with Japanese shares slipping on insurers such as Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and electricity generators such as Tokyo Electric Power Co., after a powerful earthquake rocked northwestern Japan on Monday, 16 July 2007. Nikkei slipped 0.25% at 18,193.25.

However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 0.06% at 22,968.80), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.12% to 9,428.41) and Shanghai Composite (up 0.54% to 3,842.73) edged higher.

US blue chip stocks gained on Monday, 16 July 2007, as news of a potential big telecom deal involving Verizon pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new record close, and put the index closer to 14,000. The Dow rose 43.73 points, or 0.31%, to 13,950.98. The benchmark index again set a high of 13,989.11, less than 11 points from 14,000.

Broader stock indicators however slipped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2.98 points, or 0.19%, to 1,549.52. The S&P also set a fresh trading high of 1,555.90. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 9.67 points, or 0.36%, to 2,697.33.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 306.53 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 408.53 crore on Monday, 16 July 2007.