Market may move up amid volatility

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

Majority of Asian markets were trading higher today, 13 February 2008. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 1.53% at 23,271.85), Japan's Nikkei (up 1.39% at 13,202.70), Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (up 0.75% at 7,609.68), Straits Times (up 1.80% at 2,978.85) and South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 0.19% at 1,646.35) advanced.

However China’s Shanghai Composite slipped 1.41% to 4,535.01

US markets edged higher on Tuesday, 12 February 2008, as blue chip shares rallied after billionaire investor Warren Buffett offered to insure about $800 million in tax-exempt bonds and major banks announced a new plan that they say will help homeowners avoid foreclosures. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 133.4 points, or 1.1%, to 12,373.41, paring an advance of as much as 229 points. The S&P 500 rose 9.73 points, or 0.7%, to 1,348.86. The Nasdaq Composite index finished unchanged at 2,320.04.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 22.90 points or 0.14% at 16,608.01 in volatile trade, on Tuesday, 12 February 2008. The Sensex has now shed 1531.48 points or 8.44% in last five trading sessions to the current 16,630.91 from 18139.49 on Wednesday, 6 February 2007.

India's industrial output rose 7.6% in December 2007 from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month's downwardly revised 5.1%, helped by stronger manufacturing, government data released yesterday, 12 February 2008 showed.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 498.06 crore on Tuesday, 12 February 2008. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers of shares worth Rs 351.16 crore on that day.

FIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 558.39 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday, 12 February 2008. They were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 264.89 crore and sold index options worth Rs 93 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 414.10 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 27.59 crore.

Meanwhile as per reports, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy yesterday, 12 February 2008 announced a reduction in sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) from the existing 33% to 4%. The reduction would mean a loss of Rs 50-60 crore annual revenue to the government.