South-bound journey may continue

The Asian indices are also currently fell over 2-3% in the ongoing trades. FII's remaining net sellers in equities is likely to exert more pressure on the local metal stocks. Among the key domestic indices, the Nifty could test the recent low of 5840 on the downside and a break below could see it decline to 5550, while on the upside the index has resistances at 6100 and 6110. The Sensex has a likely support at 18693 and may face resistance at 19200. Abhishek Industries, Bharat Forge, Centurian Bank of Punjab, Finolex Industries, Glenmark, HDFC Bank, Indiabulls Real Estate, Jaindal Stainless, Kotak Bank, Neyelly Lignite, NIIT, ONGC, satyam Computers, Shaw Wallace and Titan Industries are expected to announce their numbers.

US indices witnessed a fall on Friday on speculations that President Bush's economic plan won't ease US economy to enter into recession. While the Dow Jones dropped 60 points at 12099, the Nasdaq lost seven points to close at 2340.

Indian ADRs took a cue from the falling local markets, however, few managed to end in positive territory on the US bourses. Among the major laggards MTNL & wipro tanked over 3-4%, while Infosys, Dr Reddy's Lab, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank eased around 1% each. However, Styam Bucked the trend and gained 4.83% while, HDFC Bank, VSNL and Rediff gained 1-2% each.

Crude oil prices gained marginally in the international market, with the Nymex light crude oil for February delivery moved up by 44 cents to close at $90.57 per barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for February delivery gained $1.10 to settle at $880.50 an ounce.