Market may head higher

The market may head higher tracking firm global markets. However volatility may continue to remain high.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data for December 2007 is due today, 12 February 2008. IIP had slowed down 5.3% in November 2007 as against 15.8% in November 2006. The sluggish growth was due to high base effect as well as deceleration in the industry.

Asian markets were trading higher today, 12 February 2008. Hang Seng (up 2.17% at 23,107.35), Singapore's Straits Times (up 1.23% at 2,903.61), Japan's Nikkei (up 0.12% at 13,032.25), South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 0.44% at 1,647.88), advanced. However ,Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted declined 1.47% at 7,561.18. Chinese stock markets was closed.

US stocks rose on Monday, 11 February 2008, rebounding from the worst weekly loss in five years, as bargain-hunting and takeover talk sparked gains in the technology sector and higher oil prices lifted energy stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 57.88 points, or 0.48%, to 12,240.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 7.84 points, or 0.59%, to 1,339.13, and the Nasdaq Composite index shot up 15.21 points, or 0.66%, to 2,320.06.

Motorola Inc and Nortel Networks Corp may combine their wireless networking units, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the board of directors of Yahoo! rejected the $31 bid of Microsoft saying the proposal substantially undervalues the company.

Back home, on Monday 11 February 2008, the 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 833.98 points or 4.78% at 16,630.91, its third biggest fall in point terms, on heavy selling pressure as investors fretted over the dismal debut of Reliance Power. Weak global cues, too, weighed on bourses. The broader CNX S&P Nifty was down 263.35 points or 5.14% at 4857 for the day

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 1268.67 crore on Monday, 11 February 2008. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 22.27 crore on that day.

FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 287.93 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday, 11 February 2008. They were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 862.29 crore and bought index options worth Rs 144.49 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 487.87 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 58 crore.