Market likely to see gap-up opening

Local shares are likely to be witness a gap-up opening today, 9 July 2008, as political uncertainties come to an end with the Left announcing withdrawal of support to the UPA government yesterday, 8 July 2008. Positive global cues and sharp decline in crude oil prices may propel the sentiment further.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 7 July 2008 said that the government will go through the remaining formalities of the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Prime Minister is likely to discuss the progress of the Indo-US nuclear deal with US President George Bush today, 9 July 2008. He also expressed confidence that UPA government will survive the trust vote and avoid early elections. Samajwadi Party (SP) yesterday, 8 July 2008, said it will vote with the government in support of the nuclear deal with the United States.

US crude oil futures fell sharply on Tuesday, 8 July 2008, under pressure from a stronger dollar and forecasts that eased worries about Hurricane Bertha. Crude oil for August delivery slumped 3.8% to $136.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Asian markets were trading higher today, 9 July 2008, tracking Wall Street gains and after crude oil prices retreated. China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.32% or 37.16 points at 2,852.11, Japan's Nikkei surged 1.82% or 237.17 points at 13,270.27, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2.88% or 610.94 points at 21,831.75, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted added 2.30% or 161.97 points at 7,213.82, Singapore's Straits Times advanced 1.28% or 37.09 points at 2,923.71 and South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 1.60% or 24.58 points at 1,558.05

US markets had another wild trading day of ups and downs but ended with decent gains on 8 July 2008, after oil prices retreated from record highs, easing concerns on consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 152.25 points, or 1.36%, to 11,383.21. The S&P 500 advanced 21.39 points, or 1.71%, to 1,273.70, while the Nasdaq composite index added 51.10 points, or 2.28%, to 2,294.42.

Assured of the government's stability, market rebounded from early low as investor sentiment got a lift. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 176.34 points or 1.3% at 13,349.65 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 41.45 points or 1.03% at 3,988.55, yesterday, 8 July 2008.

As per the provisional figures on NSE, the foreign institutional investors (FII)'s sold shares worth Rs 326.27 crore, while domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 427.27 crore on 8 July 2008.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 412.02 crore in the futures & options segment on 8 July 2008. They were net sellers of index futures to the tune of Rs 653.68 crore and bought index options worth Rs 122.36 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 94.09 crore and purchased stock options worth Rs 25.21 crore