No peace as yet!

Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst. - Lin Yutang

The world seems to be embracing riskier assets, in other words- equities. Even Egypt's investors are said to be gearing for a rally in their market. But India seems to be in a battered club for quite a while. The worst may not be over and investors will hope to forget the Friday fright which saw the main indices tumbling mercilessly.



The markets will try to grapple with advance GDP estimates for FY11 (Monday). Expectations are that the government will project about 8.5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the current fiscal. The latest IIP numbers will be out on Friday. The Prime Minister on Friday reiterated what we all know too well- that inflation posed a "serious threat to the growth momentum."

A flat start is what we have in store for the day. Investors will be wary of taking heavy positions even though many counters seem attractive. Stick to the large caps in case you decide to make some purchase.

Meanwhile, RBI’s Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn said Egypt’s crisis will impact the RBI’s actions. "A whole set of events unfolded in the Middle East which are starting to have an impact on oil prices and that is something which we didn’t anticipate at the time of making the policy announcement on Jan. 25," Gokarn said adding that, "It is going to have an impact on our thinking, on our actions going forward."

Oil rose for the first time in three days in New York. Brent crude for March settlement added 65 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $100.48 a barrel, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

The dollar is close to a two-week high against the euro; 10-year Treasury yields are inching towards the highest level since May after U.S. unemployment rate fell to the lowest since April 2009. Of course the euro had its own reasons to weaken as the European union debates on how to solve the region’s sovereign debt crisis.

Japan’s stocks gained for a second day after earnings rose and the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. The Nikkei and broader Topix are up close to a percent.

The US stocks saw a winning week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above 12,000 for the first time since June 2008.

In other news in the media:

Oil ministry to ask Cairn India to accept its position in a lawsuit over sharing of profits in the Cairn-operated Ravva oil and gas fields as a precondition to approve the US$9.6bn Cairn-Vedanta deal. (ET)

Unitech stalls HNI move to sell shares, repays Rs1.78bn loan ahead of February 22 deadline. (ET)

BP Plc is in talks with Reliance Industries to buy a significant stake in the D6 hydrocarbon block in the Krishna-Godavari basin. (Mint)

DLF plans to appeal in the Supreme Court against a Punjab & Haryana High Court order to demolish properties on a land owned by it in Gurgaon. (ET)

Siemens sells its 8-acre land parcel in Bangalore for Rs3.8bn to realty developer RMZ Corporation. (ET)

RCom and Bharti, have approached the government seeking to prematurely exit from the rural telephony scheme. (BL)

Hindustan Unilever says there could be further price hikes in its products as input costs particularly that of commodities continue to rise. (FE)

Radico Khaitan says it may finalise some international marketing tie-ups to bring a few iconic brands in the country within a few months. (BL)

Employees Provident Fund Organization has no real surplus, says CAG. (BS)

The IT industry has sought extension of tax benefits under STPI and simplification of the tax structure to encourage investments in the sector. (ET)