Market to remain volatile

The market may witness cautious trend as US indices closed on a firm note yesterday and Asian indices are exhibiting mixed trends in the morning trades. Although the bias remains positive, investors should maintain caution as profit taking at higher levels may pull down the market. Among the local indices the Nifty could test 2900 and 2850 on the downside while on the upper side it may move up to 2950. The Sensex has a likely support at 9500 and may face resistance at 9800.

US indices advanced on Wednesday as investors welcomed reports that Congress and the White House have struck a deal to provide a $14 billion bailout to the struggling auto industry. While the Dow Jones gained 70 points to close at 8761, the Nasdaq advanced by 18 points at 1565.

Most of the Indian ADRs trading on the US bourses closed in the green. ICICI Bank, Tata Motors & VSNL led the pack with gains of over 8% each followed by MTNL, HDFC Bank, Patni Computer, Wipro both of which gained above 1-2%. Infosys, and Satyam gained marginally. However, Rediff and Dr Reddy closed negative territory.

In the crude oil front, the Nymex light crude oil for January series surged by $1.45 to close at $43.52 per barrel. The bullion Comex gold for February delivery gained $34.60 to settle at $808.80 a troy ounce