Market may start buoyant

The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to commence on a firm note and witness significant rally during intra-day trades, as international markets backed by firm US and Asian indices may help the sentiment remain buoyant. Among the Asian majors, Hangsang Index has surged 2.74% at 20951.08 while Nikkei & Straits Times Index has scaled up above 1% each. On the technical front, the Nifty could test in the 4400-4435 range on the upside and has supports in the 4280 - 4250 range, while the Sensex has a likely support at 14220 and may face resistance at 14550.

US indices posted significant gains on Friday on sharp slump in oil prices. As a result, the Dow Jones flared up by 198 points at 11,628, while the Nasdaq added 34 points to close at 2415.

All of the Indian ADRs traded firm on the US bourses except Rediff. Tata Motors led the pack with gains of 4.30% while Infosys, Wipro, HDFC Bank, VSNL, Dr Reddy, ICICI Bank and MTNL gained around 1-3% each. However, Satyam and Patni Computers ended with marginal gains.

Oil prices fell steeply on Friday, as the dollar strengthened and investors worried that a decline in demand will spread outside the United States. Crude oil prices for September delivery fell $6.59 to close at $114.59 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for December delivery declined $5.50 to settle at $833.50 an ounce.