Market to remain volatile - Jan 14 2008

Recent sell-off in US and European indices coupled with subdued Asian markets in morning trades may weigh on the local indices in early trades and thereafter could exhibit volatility during intra-day trades. However, a smart recovery in Friday's trades and the prevailing bullish trend may add to the market advantage and help the sentiment turn positive. Among the domestic indices, the Nifty could test 5,980 and below this level may slip to 5,675, while on the upside it could edge higher to 6,400. The Sensex has a likely support at 19,500 and may face resistance at 21,000. Among the major results, CMC, Exide Industries, Geometric and many more are expected to announce their quarterly numbers.

US indices tanked on Friday on revival of fearers of recession after American Express's profit warning and Merrill Lynch's potential $15 billion writedown. The Dow Jones fell 247 points to close at 12,606 and the Nasdaq ended 49 points lower at 2,440.

Most of the Indian ADR's fell on the US bourses. Infosys was the biggest loser and dropped over 6.30% followed by Satyam, Wirpo and VSNL declined over 5% each, while ICICI Bank, MTNL, Patni Computer, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank were down around 0.5%-1% each. However, Rediff soared over 2%.

Crude oil prices in the US market edged lower, with the Nymex light crude oil for February delivery was down by $1.20 to close at $92.69 per barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for February series surged by $4.10 to settle at $897.70 an ounce.