Stocks seen upbeat on firm Asian cues; Lalu's Railway Budget eyed

Key benchmark indices are likely to open higher on firm Asian markets today, 13 February 2009. Us markets staged a late pullback to end mixed overnight. The SGX Nifty futures for February 2009 series rose 33.50 points in Singapore. Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's Railway Budget will be the key event to watch out for the day.

Lalu Prasad, who managed to keep passengers fares in check for the last five years, is expected to announce populist measures in the form slashing passenger fares and announcing new trains, when he presents his sixth Railway Budget in Parliament at around 12:00 IST today, 13 February 2009.

Meanwhile hopes the finance minister will present a populist budget ahead of the general elections, in his interim budget for 2009-10 on 16 February 2009, loom large. Street expects the acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to offer tax sops and sector-specific stimulus package to revive growth. The government has so far announced two stimulus packages including tax cuts and the capital injections for banks.

Asian markets were trading higher tracking Wall Street cues. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei gained 113.60 points, or 1.47%, to 7,818.96, Hong Kong`s Hang Seng index went up 131.70 points, or 1%, to trade at 13,360, China`s Shanghai Composite rose 18.21 points, or 0.81%, to trade at 2,266.30, Taiwan`s Taiex index climbed 86.26 points, or 1.93%, to trade at 4,552.68, South Korea`s Kospi index fell 5.15 points, or 0.44%, to trade at 1,174.69 and Singapore`s Straits Times advanced 12.97 points, or 0.77%, to trade at 1,697.93.

US stocks staged a late rally to close mixed on Thursday, 12 February 2009, after reports the Obama administration was working on a program to subsidize mortgage payments for troubled homeowners.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 6.77 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 7,932.76. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.45 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 835.19 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 11.21 points, or 0.73 per cent, to 1,541.71.

According to reports, the housing plan will use government money to help reduce interest rates for struggling borrowers, while asking lawmakers to approve more ways to modify mortgages. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner intends to announce the plan in coming days.

Back home, sustained selling in index pivotals kept the market depressed, with key benchmark indices trading in the negative zone throughout the day on Thursday, 12 February 2009. The BSE 30-share Sensex lost 152.71 points or 1.59%, to 9,465.83 anf the S&P CNX Nifty shed 32.65 points or 1.12% to 2,893.05.

According to provisional data on NSE, FIIs were net sellers worth Rs 185.32 crore while mutual funds bought shares worth Rs 84.37 crore on Thursday, 12 February 2009.