Global cues see markets open low

Weakness in global indices and expiry pressures in the derivate segment may weigh on the sentiment. Action today is likely to be stock-specific. However, the mood of the market is expected to remain positive after yesterday's marginal gains and Reliance Industries quarterly numbers may help the local indices advance further. Among the key indices, the Nifty is likely target 2750 in near term and on breaching this level it is likely to target 2800, while the index has a key support at 2660. The Sensex has a likely support at 8650 and may face resistance at 8950.

Asian Paints, Bharat Electricity, Canara Bank, Crompton Greaves, Edelwiss Capital, HCL Technology, IDBI Bank, Indiabulls, ING Vysya Bank, Karnataka Bank, MRF, Mirc Electro, PTC, Punj lloyd, Reliance Communication, RNRL, Shriram, Syndicate Bank, Tanla, Tech Mahindra, Tv Today, Union Bank and Vijaya Bank are expected to announce their earnings numbers.

Thursday was the tough day for the US markets as a management shakeup at Bank of America and Microsoft's earnings disappointment weighed on investor sentiment. Dow Jones tumbled 105 points at 8123 and the Nasdaq sank about 42 points at 1465.

Fall in US markets weighted heavely on the Indian floats trading on the US bourses. Dr Reddy was the major loser and tanked 7.46% while Wipro, Infosys, ICICI Bank, MTNL and Patni Computer slumped over 3-5% each. Satyam, HDFC Bank and Tata Motors ended with losses of over 1-2% each. While VSNL and Rediff managed to close in positive territory.

Crude oil prices gained marginally, with the Nymex light crude oil for March delivery soared 12 cents to close at $43.67 a barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for February series moved up by $8.70 to settle at $858.80 an ounce.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities
On January 21 2009, FIIs were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs763 crore (purchases worth Rs866 crore and sales of Rs1,629 crore) while domestic mutual funds were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs254 crore (purchases worth Rs251 crore and sales of Rs505 crore).