Market seen opening firm on positive global cues

The market is headed for a steady start tracking firmness in global equities. US stocks rallied on Monday, 21 March 2011 with the Dow Jones Industries Average topping 12,000 mark buoyed by corporate mergers and Asian markets edged higher on Tuesday, 22 March 2011, on signs that Japan - the world's third largest economy - may be closer to stabilizing the nuclear crisis at its earthquake-hit plant. Trading of S&P CNX Nifty futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates a gain of 4.50 points at the opening bell. However, uncertainty prevailing on the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa region and high oil prices may weigh on the sentiment.



Investors will be watching developments in parliament as The Finance Bill, which completes the budgetary exercise, needs to be passed in parliament. The bill will be put for vote on Wednesday, 23 March 2011. In view of the elections in five states (West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), the government has curtailed the Budget Session of Parliament, which will conclude on Friday, 25 March 2011.

Also, the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to table a Constitution Amendment Bill in Parliament to facilitate implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) today, 22 March 2011. The Bill is likely to be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for scrutiny. The GST seeks to replace multiple indirect taxes, such as the central excise duty and services tax, and state taxes including value added tax, entry tax and purchase tax, with a neat single levy. The Union cabinet has already approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

As per provisional figures, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 97.02 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 47.98 crore on Monday, 21 March 2011.

Asian stocks edged higher for a third day on Tuesday, 22 March 2011, as Japan made progress in stabilizing reactors at a crippled nuclear plant north of Tokyo.

The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan were up by between 0.15% to 0.75%. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 2.94% after the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan reportedly said yesterday he can see “light at the end of the tunnel,” even as smoke at two reactors hampered efforts to restore cooling systems at the troubled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, which was damaged following an earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.37%.

US stocks rallied for the third straight day on Monday, 21 March 2011 after AT&T announced the purchase of T-mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, touted to be the biggest merger & acquisition deal this year. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped over 12,000, a crucial psychological point, to end at 12,036.53, gaining 178.01 points, or 1.50%. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index advanced 19.18 points, or 1.50%, to settle at 1,298.38 and the Nasdaq rallied 48.42 points, or 1.83%, to 2,692.09.

Soaring global crude oil price is a cause of concern for India which imports 70% of its oil requirements. Surging oil prices have stoked concerns about higher inflation and interest rates. US crude futures were up 34 cents a barrel or 0.33% to $102.67 a barrel amid ongoing tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and North Africa region.

Advance tax payments made by top 100 firms based in the country's financial capital --Mumbai reportedly rose by 25% in the Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010, hinting robust earnings. Companies pay advance tax every quarter based on their projected income for the year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised key interest rates at a mid-quarter policy review on Thursday, 17 March 2011 and the central bank said it will continue with its anti-inflationary stance. The central bank also warned that continuing uncertainty about energy and commodity prices may vitiate the investment climate, posing a threat to the current economic growth trajectory.