Firm global indices indicates positive open

After posting biggest gains in the last two weeks, the bias for the market may remain positive. The market is expected to make further headways on surging international indices and prevailing strong bullish sentiment. However, investors should remain cautious on account of the prevalence of a intra-day volatility. Among the local indices, the Nifty could test higher levels in the 4160-4180 range and has a support in the 4120-4140 range. The Sensex on the downside may slip to13800 and may face resistance at 14300.

Major US indices rose Wednesday, after government data suggested that the housing market is stabilizing and the upbeat corporate news from big investments from Berkshire Hathaway and others. While the Dow Jones flared up by 103 points at 13488, the Nasdaq moved up by 22 points to close at 2547.

All the Indian ADRs traded firm on the US bourses. ICICI Bank led the pack with gains of over 7% while, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's, Tata Motors, Rediff, MTNL jumped over 3-4% and Infosys, Satyam, Wipro, Patni Computer and VSNL closed with the marginal gains.

Crude oil prices eased, with the Nymex light crude oil for June delivery falling by 62 cents to close at $62.55 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for June delivery tumbled $13 to settle at $661.50 an ounce.