Daily Call - Aug 22 2008

The much awaited inflation number came in at 12.63%. This has been more than adequately discounted by yesterday's fall of 434 points in the Sensex and 131 point slide in the Nifty. If the markets do open lower, it may be due to the weak Asian cues prevailing at the open or the resurgence of crude that everybody thought had been given a quiet burial.

Strangely, the global markets took 12 days to realise that Russian tanks were not on a picnic in Georgia. Crude has risen for the third day on the trot, first time since 14th of July. Don't mistake the rise in the Dow as signal that US markets have ignored Crude surge. In fact the Dow's recovery is built around two oil stocks Chevron and Exxon Mobil, which were up following the Crude surge. The Nifty has broken through the 4316 level and the next support of 4150 assumes great significance, as a close below that would end the process of higher bottoms that the Indices had started to make. All eyes will now on the NSG outcome