Domestic markets all set for a gap-up start

Headlines for the day:

Decontrol of petrol prices not enough to tame subsidy bill

Bharti Walmart opens third cash-and-carry store in Punjab

R-Power may commission UMPP eight months ahead of schedule



Events for the day:

Major corporate action

Weekly inflation to be announced today, to view the update on this, kindly log on to Sharekhan.com at 12 pm.
Prakash Steelage IPO opens today
Bajaj Corp IPO closes today

Updates on global events

The US ADP Employment Change for the month ended July 2010 came in at 42,000

The US Challenger Job Cuts for the year ended July 2010 came in at (57.2)

Pre-market report

Global signals

The European equities ended flat on Wednesday (August 04, 2010) as better-than-expected US services and private sector employment figures offset weaker retail shares that fell on concerns of a decline in consumer demand.

The US markets rose on Wednesday as retailers' earnings and a report showing a slight improvement in private employment boosted optimism ahead of Friday's payrolls report.

The Asian markets were higher in their early trade on better-than-expected US economic indicators. SGX Nifty was trading 11 points higher, pointing towards a positive start on the Indian bourses.

Indian Indices

The world markets rose after some good US data helped the Wall Street to end higher. Taking positive cues from the global markets, the Indian equities are likely to open on a positive note. However, markets are expected to trade in range-bound as the markets are depended on global developments to show some directions, which are still in concern of economic recovery.

The sustained buying from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been boosting the market sentiments, which has lifted the Sensex and Nifty above the significant 18200 and 5450 levels, which indicates positive sign for the investors.

Going into the session, the weekly inflation numbers to be announced today, which will be closely eyed by the markets players.

Commodity cues

Oil prices have bounced back this week, rising to 3-month highs as worries about the economic recovery ease and a report shows a drop in crude supplies, as the crude oil futures for September delivery dipped by $0.08, to settle at $82.47 a barrel.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities

Foreign funds have bought Indian equities worth a net of Rs677.30 crore on August 04, 2010, substantially lower than Rs864.40 crore on Tuesday (August 03, 2010).