Lamenting on Libya!

There has never been an age that did not applaud the past and lament the present - Lilian Eichler Watson.

The wave of democracy seems to be sweeping the Middle East taking toll on the lives of protestors in Libya now. The unrest in Tunisia and then Egypt saw the toppling of regimes in power for decades. Perhaps it’s the turn of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down now.



Looks like some of the gains made in Monday’s late rally could be negated this morning, as political tensions across Middle-East and North Africa continue to simmer. We are staring at a negative opening amid weak global cues. Things could improve later in the day but on the whole the trend will be choppy and rangebound.

RIL will be in focus after striking a mega deal with BP but to an extent the stock already firmed up on Monday.

The turmoil in West Asia has had an impact on world markets. Crude oil has climbed past $92 while gold futures surpassed $1,400. Oil may remain elevated as companies in Libya have shut at least 100k bpd of production. It is trading at level not seen since Oct. 2008.

US markets were shut on Monday. European stocks took a beating amid escalating public unrest in Middle-East and North Africa. Meanwhile, credit ratings of Libya and Bahrain have been slashed.

Shanghai stocks touched three-month high but are in the red today. Japanese shares have slumped after Moody's cut Japan’s outlook to negative from stable. Stocks in Hong Kong and other Asian markets are down sharply as well.

Risk tolerance may take a backseat due to concerns over geopolitical tensions, upcoming Union Budget and the F&O expiry this week. The Nifty will see resistance around 5600 while support is expected at 5480.

Balrampur Chini’s Board will meet today to consider buy back of shares.

Ranbaxy, Castrol India and Esab India will declare their results today.

FIIs were net sellers of Rs 2.45bn in the cash segment on Monday, according to the provisional NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions were net sellers at Rs 276.1mn on the same day. FIIs were net sellers of Rs 4.44bn in the F&O segment. The foreign funds were net buyers at Rs 2.44bn in the cash segment on Friday, as per final SEBI data. Mutual Funds were net buyers of Rs 798mn on the same day.