Bright to begin with…

Hope is some extraordinary spiritual grace that God gives us to control our fears, not to oust them. ~Vincent McNabb.

The fuel price hike has suddenly fueled hopes of more reforms from UPA II. A cabinet reshuffle is on the cards shortly while the PM has decided to speak more frequently to the media. But, problems remain - largely in the form of high inflation, spiraling interest rates and drop in investments.

The Indian market has rallied for the past four sessions – the longest winning streak in three months. Hopefully, the rally may just have enough steam to last a bit longer.



The start today will again be pretty bright, what with world markets advancing on hope that Greece would avert Eurozone’s first ever sovereign default. All eyes are on the two-day parliament debate and vote on the unpopular austerity measures in Greece.

The euro fell today, snapping a two-day gain against the dollar, as riots escalated in Greece.

A proposal by French banks to roll over Greek debt depends on credit-rating rating agencies not cutting Greece and existing or newly issued government securities to default, according to reports.

Back home, FII inflows have picked up again. The Bank Nifty has signaled a breakout and could help the Nifty attain 5600 in the near term. The next big target will be the 200-DMA which is around 5750.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 8.19bn in the cash segment on Tuesday, according to the provisional NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions (DIIs) were net sellers at Rs 5.75bn on the same day. In the F&O segment, the foreign funds were net buyers at Rs 9.43bn.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 17.9bn in the cash segment on Monday, as per SEBI web site. Mutual Funds were net sellers of Rs 834mn on the same day.

Welcorp, which gained on Tuesday, could be in action again today. The company has called a press conference to make a significant announcement.

Cairn India might remain in the spotlight amid reports that the Union Cabinet may on Thursday consider approving the revised Vedanta-Cairn Energy deal.

Equity shares of Dhanuka Agritech Ltd. and Ashiana Housing Ltd. will get listed today on the NSE.

Asian Markets on Wednesday:

Asian equity indices are trading mostly higher on hope that the Greek government will be able to win a crucial parliament vote on the unpopular austerity measures that are crucial to win EU-IMF aid and a new rescue package. However, equities in China are in the red.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up 0.7% at 132.32 as of 9:38 a.m. in Tokyo, headed for its highest close since June 15. About 10 stocks rose for each stock that dropped.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was up 1% at 9,745. The Topix rose ~1% to 838. The Shanghai Composite index in China was down ~0.1% at 2,755. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up ~0.5% at 22,167.

The Kospi in South Korea gained ~1.3% at 2,088. The Taiex in Taiwan was up ~1% at 8,561. The Straits Times index in Singapore was up 0.3% at 3,060. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia was up ~1.1% at 4,523. The NZX 50 in New Zealand was up 0.1% at 3,444.

Most Asian markets had declined on Monday amid uncertainty over this week’s vote in the Greek parliament on the tough new budget cuts.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday backed a plan to extend the maturity of Greek bonds due in coming years in order to share the burden of a new aid package with private investors.

Reports also said that Greek creditors may be headed toward a rollover agreement involving 70% of their bonds to prevent eurozone's first default. Germany welcomed proposals from French lenders on voluntary participation in the debt plan.

Greek lawmakers on Wednesday will vote on budget cuts and asset sales needed to secure a loan payment and future financing.

Reports say that a proposal by French banks to roll over Greek debt depends on credit-rating firms not cutting Greece and existing or newly issued government securities to default.

Fitch Ratings will “very likely” deem Greece in default if the European Union goes ahead with a plan to get private investors to roll over their Greek bonds as part of the Greek rescue.

The euro fell, snapping a two-day gain against the dollar, amid growing protests against the austerity package needed to secure more financial aid.

The shared currency of the 17-member euro area was still headed for a second quarterly gain on speculation that Greece’s debt crisis won’t prevent the European Central Bank (ECB) from raising interest rates next week to cool inflation.

The dollar traded near the strongest in three weeks versus the yen after Treasury yields jumped yesterday.

Oil futures in New York traded near the highest in four days. London’s Brent declined 0.6%.

US Markets on Tuesday:

US equity indices rose for a second successive day on Tuesday, spurred by encouraging data on home prices and amid growing optimism of Greece avoiding a default before the crucial parliament vote on tough austerity plans.

Despite fresh public protests there is still hope that Prime Minister George Papandreou's five-year budget cuts will be passed on Wednesday, taking Greece a step closer to a new bailout package.

Greek lawmakers began debating an austerity package on Monday. A vote on the controversial austerity measures is scheduled for Wednesday and a vote on the implementation legislation on Thursday.

Down 1.1% for the nearly ended quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.13 points, or 1.2%, to 12,188.69, with 26 of its 30 components gaining.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 16.57 points, or 1.3%, to 1,296.67, leaving it off 2.2% for the second quarter.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 41.03 points, or 1.5%, to 2,729.31, leaving it off for the three-month period ending Thursday.

For every stock that fell, four gained on the New York Stock Exchange, where 804 million shares traded. Composite volume neared 3.4 billion.

Commodities also advanced, with crude oil futures nearing $93 a barrel and gold futures back above $1,500 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil for August delivery added $2.28 to $92.89 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery rose $3.80 to $1,500.20 an ounce.

Treasury prices fell, with the yield on the 10-year note - used in determining rates on mortgages and other consumer loans - rising to 3.041%.

The dollar lost ground against the euro, British pound and the Japanese yen.

The S&P Case-Shiller home price index, considered one of the leading gauges on the housing market, rose 0.7% in April.

The 20-city index tracking changes in US home prices gained in April from March. While April Case-Shiller numbers were solid, the report doesn't indicate a bottom for the troubled US housing market.

A separate report showed a drop in consumer sentiment in June. The Conference Board's consumer confidence survey for June came in at 58.5, lower than the level of 60.8 that economists had expected.

Moody's warned that it may have to downgrade Spain's regional banks. The credit rating agency said that regional governments remain too optimistic in their economic forecasts and are likely to see bigger-than-anticipated deficits.

Shares of Nike jumped 10% a day after the athletic shoe maker posted better-than-expected profit and sales, citing strength in its Chinese and other overseas markets.

Top performers on the Dow included energy companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron as oil prices jumped more 2.5%. Other strong performers among the blue chips were Home Depot and Caterpillar.

Shares of GSV Capital fell 5%, a day after a 42% rally on its disclosure that it acquired 225,000 Facebook shares at $29.28 per share. The deal puts the value of Facebook at about $70 billion.

Accenture's stock rose after the management consultancy was tapped to join the S&P 500. Accenture will replace Marshall & Ilsley, which is in the process of being acquired by the Bank of Montreal.

Youku.com shares soared 30% after the company announced a video-on-demand service in coordination with Time Warner's Warner Bros.

Shares of LinkedIn jumped 13% after analysts at several major investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, put the social media site on their "buy" lists.

European Markets on Tuesday:

European stock benchmarks closed higher on Tuesday amid increasing hope that Greek prime minister George Papandreou will secure the parliament's approval for the new set of austerity measures, enabling the debt-strapped nation to remain solvent.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5% to close at 265.23. The index finished barely higher on Monday, up 0.01%, to snap a three-day losing streak.

The German DAX 30 index rose 0.9% to close at 7,170.43 while France’s CAC 40 index gained 1.5% to close at 3,851.89. The FTSE 100 index finished 0.8% higher at 5,766.88.

Greece’s parliament must approve austerity measures on Wednesday, so that the nation can receive more aid from the EU and the IMF. A vote on the package is scheduled for Wednesday and a vote on the implementation legislation for Thursday.

Greek workers began a two-day strike to protest the austerity measures, while the European Union stepped up the pressure on Greek lawmakers to pass budget cuts and asset sales or face default.

Siemens shares fell in Frankfurt. The company said that it expects new orders and revenue to increase in the fiscal third quarter, with new orders expected to rise significantly year-over-year.

However, CFO Joe Kaeser warned that the first signs of easing growth in the second half are on the horizon, mainly owing to tougher year-on-year comparisons.

Adidas shares rose after rival Nike Inc. topped forecasts late Monday with fourth-quarter results.

Shares of TomTom NV sank nearly 27% after the maker of portable navigation devices warned on full-year earnings and sales after the close of markets on Monday. It said that consumer-electronics markets have been weak over recent weeks and the trend is ongoing.

Shares of Cable & Wireless Worldwide Plc dropped nearly 14% after it issued a profit warning and said that its CEO stepped down.

Shares of Carrefour rallied 3.7% after the retailer said that it has received a proposal to form a 50-50 joint venture with Cia. Brasileira de Distribuicao, known as CBD. The deal would form the biggest retailer in Brazil.

Shares of Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA, partner to CBD and longtime rival of Carrefour, tumbled 5.6%.