Market to stay cautious ahead of RBI meet

The market is expected to stay cautious ahead of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) mid-term review of annual policy today, 30 October 2007. Also US Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday, 31 October 2007 on interest rates, will be another key event to watch out. High volatility cannot be ruled out in these two days. Cues from global markets were positive.

As per reports, some bankers and economists expect a marginal cut in key short-term rates, while others feel that RBI might not do so in the face of inflationary expectations looming large due to surging global oil prices. Analysts speculate that Fed would cut rates by 25 basis points.

Asian markets were trading slightly lower today, 30 October 2007. Japan's Nikkei (down 0.70% at 16,580.64), Taiwan Weighted (down 0.06% at 9,803.76), Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.36% at 3,806), South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 0.46% at 2,053.45) edged lower. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.36% at 31,701.26.

US Markets advanced yesterday, 29 October 2007, on positive earnings reports and the anticipation of an interest rate cut. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 64 points to 13870.26, the S&P 500 index rose 6 points to 1540.98 and the Nasdaq Composite index firmed 13 points to 2817.

As per provisional data, FIIs purchased shares worth a net Rs 688.93 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of shares worth Rs 634.44 crore on Monday, 29 October 2007.

Crude oil prices fell nearly 1% below $93 a barrel on Tuesday, 30 October 2007, fading from their latest record high as investors took profits from a rally fuelled by a Mexican supply outage and the spiraling dollar. US crude fell by 85 cents to $92.68 a barrel after hitting a record high of $93.80 yesterday, 29 October 2007. London Brent slipped 77 cents to $89.65.

The BSE Sensex ended with a 734.50-point or 3.82% spurt to 19,977.67, on Monday, 29 October 2007. It hit an all time high of 20,024.87 in late trade. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty ended up 203.6 points, or 3.57%, to 5,905.90. It hit an all-time high of 5,922.50 in late trade on Monday, 29 October 2007. FII buying was primary driver of the rally. Q2 September 2007 results announced so far have been decent to strong.