Market may open lower

Trading of S&P CNX Nifty on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that NSE's Nifty index may fall 13 points lower at opening today, 7 July 2011. However, the market sentiment remains positive on sustained buying by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) over the past few days. FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 220.45 crore on Wednesday, 6 July 2011, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 80.23 crore on that day.



Back home, the government will announce the weekly food inflation numbers around noon. Food inflation fell to a one-and-a-half month low of 7.78% for the week ended 18th June down from 9.13% in the previous week.

Oil prices settled almost unchanged on Wednesday as the rate hike by China and Europe's debt woes raised concerns about demand. Brent futures for August added 1 cent to settle at $113.62 a barrel, having recovered from an earlier $111.91 low. US crude fell 24 cents to settle at $96.65 a barrel

US stocks rose on Wednesday, rebounding from early losses and shaking off news of a Chinese interest rate hike and fresh eurozone debt worries to close higher by the end of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 56.15 points, or 0.45% to close at 12,626.02. The broader S&P 500 rose 1.34 points, or 0.10% to 1,339.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 8.25 points, or 0.29% to stand at 2,834.02.

Most Asian indices posted slight gains on Thursday following a rise on Wall Street as investors looked beyond the latest bout of nervousness over the euro zone debt crisis after Moody's slash in the ratings of Portugal sparked a sell-off in peripheral bonds. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea were up by 0.45% to 0.60%. However, Key benchmark indices in Japan and Taiwan were down 0.10% and 0.42%, respectively.

China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.11% on hopes of a near-term pause in policy tightening after the country's central bank, after the markets closed yesterday, hiked interest rates by another 25 basis points in its ongoing move to rein in inflation.

The market soon enters the crucial period of corporate earnings. Investors will closely watch the post-Q1 June 2011 result management commentary to gauge the future earnings outlook at a time when firms are witnessing cost pressures amid rising interest rates and staff costs. A hike in transportation costs will add to cost pressure of India Inc. As per reports, freight rates have gone up by 8% to 9% on all routes across India following the recent hike in diesel prices.

Corporate earnings in India will begin with housing finance major HDFC unveiling its Q1 June 2011 results on Friday, 8 July 2011. IT bellwether Infosys unveils Q1 results on 12 July 2011. IT giant TCS unveils Q1 results on 14 July 2011. Wipro, Dr Reddy's Lab and Exide Industries are set to announce Q1 results on 20 July 2011. Biocon unveils Q1 results on 21 July 2011. Private sector bank Axis Bank reports Q1 results on 22 July 2011.