Market expected to open positive

Positive close in US markets and firm Asian indices in morning trades may help the market open in the green. However, worries about FIIs remaining net sellers of equities in the domestic market and recent spike in crude oil prices could force the players to remain on the sidelines. The Nifty on the downside may dip to 5694 while on the upside it may test 5850. The Sensex has a likely support at 19000 and may face resistance at 20500.

US indices bounced back in a late session rally on Tuesday helped by the energy sector gains. While the Dow Jones advanced by 118 points at 13661, the Nasdaq added 30 points to close at 2825.

Most of the Indian floats trading on the US bourses buckled under selling pressure. Infosys was the major loser and slumped over 6.90% while Wipro, Satyam and Rediff crumbled more than 4-6%. Tata Motors, MTNL, Satyam Computer declined around 0.5-1% each. HDFC Bank, however, rose 3.30% while Dr Reddy's, VSNL and ICICI Bank ended with decent gains.

Crude oil prices surged further due to thinning oil stocks and a North Sea storm. The Nymex light crude oil for December delivery gained $2.72 to close at $96.70 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for December series rose by $13 to settle at $810.80 a troy ounce.