Market to head higher

The market is expected to head higher, on positive global cues. The BSE 30-share Sensex advanced 259.55 points or 1.86% to settle at 14,248.66, on Wednesday, 22 August 2007, tracking firm Asian and European markets. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 78.25 points or 1.92% at 4153.15, on Wednesday, 22 August 2007.

The benchmark index, BSE Sensex, is now down 1620.19 points from its all time high of 15,868.85, struck on 24 July 2007.

All the Asian indices were trading higher today, 23 August 2007. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) at its meeting today, 23 August 2007, left interest rates unchanged at 0.50%, the lowest among major economies. The BOJ had last raised interest rates in February 2007.

Hang Seng (up 2.55% at 22,917.07), Japan's Nikkei (up 2.47% at 16,293.60), Taiwan Weighted (up 2.55% at 8,710.15), Singapore's Straits Times (up 2.56% at 3,406.64), Shanghai Composite (up 0.44% to 5,001.94) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 2.59% at 1,805), all edged higher

US stocks rose on Wednesday, 22 August 2007, as takeover activity resurfaced and credit markets stabilized, luring investors back into riskier assets such as equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.27 points, or 1.11%, to 13,236.13. Broader stock indicators jumped as well. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16.95 points, or 1.17%, to 1,464.07, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 31.50 points, or 1.25%, to 2,552.80.

Crude oil prices rebounded from lower levels on Thursday, 23 August 2007 as world stock markets rallied on hopes that the worst of the credit squeeze may be past and traders braced for supply delays in the wake of Hurricane Dean. US crude rose 29 cents to $69.55 a barrel while Brent crude gained 16 cents to $68.86 a barrel.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 636.19 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 547.29 crore on Wednesday, 22 August 2007.

FIIs have been on a selling drive recently. FIIs sold shares worth Rs 8,558.10 crore in the month of August, till 21 August 2007. FII inflow in the month of July 2007, totaled Rs 23,872.40 crore.