Market may extend gain

Indices may extend rally backed by the sustained upward momentum across the globe. Strong foreign fund buying in Indian equities in the previous session may also ignite investor sentiment.

Foreign institutional investors provisionally brought shares worth Rs 1,417.28 crore to the Indian equity market, pushing the BSE benchmark index beyond 12,000-point level, highest in the last seven months. However, domestic institutional investors booked profits and sold net Rs 92.60 crore worth of shares.

Most of the Asian indices rallied as investors continued to buy into hopes for a global economic recovery. Key indices in Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan were up by between 1.27% to 2.09%. However, key indices in China, Hong Kong, and Jakarta were marginally down by between 0.14% to 0.67%.

The US markets continued their upward march, kicking off the first full week of May on a positive note. The move was spurred by positive economic signs and strength in banks before the release of stress test results. The market move was also boosted by some positive earnings results and hopes that the Swine Flu epidemic would not be as bad as feared. The Dow gained 214.33 points, or 2.6%, to 8,426.74. The Nasdaq composite index rose 44.36 points, or 2.6%, to 1,763.56. The S&P 500 index rose 29.72 points to 907.24.