Markets may begin on a positive note

Headlines for the day:

Cairn deal will hinge on government endorsement

ADAG to buy Indiabulls' 26% stake in Icex

Private equity places big bets on SMEs



Events for the day:

Major corporate action

Bajaj Corp to be listed today
Ex-date for stock split of HDFC
Results: Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care
For more events and news, log on to Sharekhan.com

Updates on global events

The US Industrial Production for the month ended July 2010 stood at 1% as compared to (0.10%) in the previous month.

The UK Consumer Price Index for the month ended July 2010 stood at (0.20%) as compared to 0.1% in the previous month.

Pre-market report

Global signals

The European shares rose on Tuesday (August 17, 2010), with insurers among the biggest gainers as Aegon allayed fears of a share issue to repay state aid and bid talk helped peer Aviva push higher.

The US stocks rose on Tuesday after earnings from Wal-Mart and Home Depot and a $39 billion takeover bid in the agriculture sector bolstered confidence in the corporate outlook.

The Asian markets were trading higher as sentiment got lifted after Wall Street's rise. SGX Nifty was trading 11.5 points higher, suggesting to have a positive opening on the Dalal Street.

Indian Indices

After a heavy fall on Monday (August 16, 2010), the Indian indices ended flat in the previous session due to lingering worries.

With no triggers in the hindsight, the domestic markets have been dependent on its global peers to bring some momentum. Going in to today’s session, the world markets rebounded as European and US shares gained more than 1%, which led to strong support to the Asian markets. Tracking positive global cues, the Indian bourses may kick off the day on a higher note and may extend gains during the session.

Bajaj Corp, one of the India’s leading producers of hair oils, will list on exchanges today. The issue price has been fixed at Rs660 per share, at the higher end of the price band of Rs630-660 per share.

The Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is close to acquiring a 26% stake from Indiabulls Financial Services in Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX). This news may bring some action in the ADAG stocks and also in Indiabulls Financial Services’ share.

Commodity cues

Crude-oil futures on Tuesday rebounded from five-week lows to break a six-session losing streak, lifted by a weaker US dollar and rising stocks, as the crude oil futures for September delivery rose by $0.53, to settle at $75.77 a barrel.

Daily trend of FII/MF investment in equities

Foreign funds have bought Indian equities worth a net of Rs558.40 crore on August 17, 2010, substantially higher than Rs449.40 crore on August 16, 2010.