Market may gain on firm Asian equities

PRE-SESSION

Market may gain on firm Asian equities

The market may advance today tracking firm Asian equities. The Union will be the key event to watch out for in the near term. The Budget 2008-09 would be presented by the finance ministry at the fag end of the month.

Asian markets were trading higher today, 19 February 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 1.61% at 24,141.90), Japan's Nikkei (up 0.55% at 13,710.85), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index (up 1.11% at 7,978.28), South Korea's Seoul Composite index (up 1.18% at 1,716.34) and Singapore's Straits Times index (up 0.56% at 3,100.68) edged higher.

The US markets were closed on Monday, 18 February 2008, for the Presidents' Day holiday.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 67.20 points or 0.37% at 18,048.05 in volatile trade. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 26 points or 0.49% at 5,276.90 on that day.

At current 18,048.05, Sensex trades at a PE multiple of 17.18 to 18.04, based on projected FY 2009 EPS of Rs 1000-to-Rs 1050 for 30 Sensex companies.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 342.08 crore on Monday, 18 February 2008. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 134.16 crore on that day.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 90.15 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday, 18 February 2008. They were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 89.45 crore and sold index options worth Rs 21.38 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 6.01 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 16.07 crore.

Crude oil slipped today, 19 February 2008, as the market grappled with worries over an economic slowdown in the United States and supply concerns from Venezuela and Nigeria. U.S. light crude for March delivery was down 16 cents at $95.95 a barrel