Blast, quake and life goes on

"To overcome a fear, here's all you have to do: realize the fear is there, and do the action you fear anyway." - Peter McWilliams.

A suspected terrorist strike in the heart of the capital did not dampen the spirits on the local bourses. The markets are unlikely to be shaken by a late night earthquake in New Delhi. The opening is expected to be good, but not spectacular. A few Asian markets are unable to hold on to early gains despite a stellar rally in the US and Europe.



Indian indices surpassed key levels and could be headed further north if the global situation doesn’t worsen. FII inflows need to stay positive. The Nifty tested 5150 levels before retreating. It could bump into resistance around 5225-5250.

With so much uncertainty and anxiety over the precarious state of the US and Eurozone, markets will continue to face volatility. Tread cautiously as a few important events are lined up this week and this month. Don’t get fooled by the recent corrective uptick as the same may not sustain for long.

Global investors will tune into US President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve chief Ben S. Bernanke later today for cues on what they intend to do to pump-prime the US economy.

The Bank of Korea today left its key policy rates steady. Central banks of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will probably also keep their benchmark rates unchanged when they meet later today.

The Australian unemployment rate rose to 5.3% from 5.1% in July on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Policy decisions are also due from central banks in the UK and the Eurozone. Markets will be all ears to what the head of these central banks say about the respective economies. G7 finance chiefs are due to meet on Friday.

IIP, inflation, Advance Tax numbers, RBI policy action and FOMC meet will be on investors' radar are among the few important events to watch out for in the coming days.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 2.63bn in the cash segment on Wednesday, according to the provisional NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions (DIIs) were net sellers at Rs 808.1mn on the same day. FIIs were net buyers of Rs 8.48bn (provisional) in the F&O segment.

The foreign funds were net were net buyers at Rs 5.68bn in the cash segment on Tuesday, as per SEBI data. The mutual funds were net sellers of Rs 2.64bn on the same day.

Global Data Watch: Germany trade balance and current account, US trade balance and US jobless claims.