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, Nikkei Index has surged 0.51% while Hang Sang & Strait Times Index has scaled up nearly 2% each. On the technical front, the Nifty could test in the 3030-3080 range on the upside and has supports in the 2930-2880 range, while the Sensex has a likely support at 9550 and may face resistance at 9850.

US indices posted significant gains on Wednesday, mustering up a late-session rally after a choppy session that helped push the S&P 500's two-week gains to 20%. As a result, the Dow Jones flared up by 90 points at 7,750, while the Nasdaq added 12 points to close at 1529.

All of the Indian ADRs traded firm on the US bourses. Rediff led the pack with gains of 12.65% while Patni Computers, Infosys, Satyam, Dr Reddy, HDFC Bank and VSNL gained around 2-4% each. However, Wipro and MTNL ended with marginal gains. While Tata Motors closed with loss of 6.13%.

Crude oil prices in the US market lost, with the Nymex light crude oil for May delivery declining by $1.21 to close at $52.77 per barrel . In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for June series gained $12 to settle at $938 a troy ounce.