Bias may remain bearish

A look at how the indices fared at their closes: Sensex 9296 (-4.72%); Nifty 2724 (-4.76%); Nasdaq 2146 (-0.28%); Dow 10937 (+0.06%). On June 07 2006, FIIs were net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs31.90 crore (purchases worth Rs2,052.50 crore and sales of Rs2,020.60 crore) while domestic mutual funds were net sellers of stocks to the tune of Rs217.57 crore (purchases worth Rs296.50 crore and sales of Rs514.07 crore). The market-mood is likely to remain weak and the Reserve Bank of India surprisingly hiking the interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.75% and repo rate to 6.75% after the market hours yesterday may further dampen the investors' sentiment. Among the key domestic indices, the Nifty could test 2668 or 2625 and a slip below 2625 it has support at 2520 while on the upside the index has resistances at 2782 and 2833. The Sensex has a likely support at 9200 and could test higher level of 9466. Neyveli Lignite, Wyeth, Ponni Sugars Erode, Eicher Motors and Tips Industries are expected to come up with their numbers. US indices displayed mixed trend on Thursday, with the Dow Jones gaining six points to close at 10937 while the Nasdaq ending with losses for the fifth straight session at 2146, down six points. Indian floats trading on the US bourses extended their losing streak following a continued sell-off in the domestic market. Among the major losers Dr Reddy's, HDFC Bank, Rediff and Patni Computers crashed over 5-6% each. Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, MTNL and VSNL slumped between over 2-4% each. Crude oil prices moved downwards on Thursday, with the Nymex light crude oil for July delivery slipping up 47 cents at $70.35 a barrel and the London Brent crude falling by 15 cents to close at $69.06 per barrel. In the commodity segment, the Comex gold for August series tanked $19.10 to settle at $613.50 an ounce.