He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how
The bulls seem to be able to bear any apprehensions for now. It’s not as if risk appetite is increasing, but who wants to miss a joyride! The indices have been on a firm footing as the health of the Indian economy appears to be getting better by the day. The Auto and cement numbers have given some reason to cheer. For those who rejoice in numbers of any kind, the total market cap of all the listed firms on the BSE has surged to Rs60,742bn, adding Rs2,410bn in three trading sessions since Budget Day.
With Finance Minister making it clear that fuel price rise is here to stay, keeping inflation under control will remain a challenge.
A flat start is in the offing; a reversal of recent fortunes could well take place during the day depending on how the global events pan out. Expectations though are that the Nifty may breach the 5100 mark before any worthwhile correction. The Asian markets are indecisive for now. US indices wiped out gains following worries about the job and manufacturing reports expected in the coming days. Positive economic news took a back seat towards the end.
The Fed's periodic "Beige Book" reading on the economy showed that economic activity picked up somewhat in 9 of the Fed's 12 districts. Consumer spending also improved modestly, the report indicated.
The European Union said it will more closely regulate the economies of its 27 members so as to avoid a repeat of the Greece crisis, a report stated. In an attempt to cut its deficit, Greece announced a $6.5 billion plan including $3.3bn in new revenues and ~$3.3 billion in spending cuts, which include pension freezes and cuts in civil servants' salaries.
Hedge fund Elliott Associates made an unsolicited all-cash offer for Novell offering to buy the remaining 91.5% of the company for around $5.75 per share, or $1.83 billion. The price is a 21% premium over Novell's closing stock price from Tuesday.
US light crude oil for April delivery rose $1.19 to settle at $80.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Most equity markets in Asia are slightly indecisive. The Hang Seng and the Australian markets are trading with marginal gains led by mining and banking stocks. BHP Billiton gained 1.3%, Newcrest Mining advanced 2%, Standard Chartered climbed 5%.
While, stocks in Japan were under pressure as the yen neared a 3-month high against the dollar, damping the outlook for overseas earnings at carmakers. Mazda Motor slipped 1%, Mitsubishi Motors declined 6.1%. On the other hand, Nippon Yusen K.K rose 3.4%, Elpida Memory gained 2%.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.2% to 121.06 as of 11:22 a.m. in Tokyo.
Hang Seng index was up 0.2% at 20,914 and the kospi was flat at 1,621. The Nikkei 225 Index was down 0.2% at 10,250. Straits Times Index was marginally up at 2,786, the Taiwan Taiex index was up 0.4% at 7,655. While, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2% at 4,741.
Australia’s trade deficit narrowed in the month of January to the smallest gap in 7-months. The shortfall shrank to A$1.18bn from a revised A$2.17bn in December, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney.
Japanese businesses cut spending for an 11th quarter even as their earnings rebounded. Capital spending excluding software fell 18.5% in the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said.
Back to domestic news from the local newspapers:
Infosys plans salary hike across board in April 2010. (ET)
BHEL set to bag orders for steam turbine generators.(BL)
SAIL and Tata Steel hike prices by up to Rs2,000/ton. (BS)
Titan Industries anticipates ~21% growth in its turnover in FY10, plans to enter new foreign market. (BL)
IT Department raided Bhushan Steel premises in Ghaziabad, and Delhi to investigate suspected tax evasion by the company. (BS)