Pre Market Report 25/06/2008

The market is geared for weak start today reacting to Reserve Bank of India's move (after market hours) yesterday, 24 June 2008, hiking key lending rate and banks' reserve requirements in an aggressive step to combat over 11% inflation, and signaled it would act again if needed. Global cues are not supportive either.

Volatility is expected to remain high in the near term as derivatives contracts for June series are set to expire on Thursday, 26 June 2008. As per reports, the marketwide rollover of positions from June 2008 series to July 2008 series stood at 26.50% while that of Nifty was 31%, as on Friday, 20 June 2008.

Asian markets were trading mixed today, 25 June 2008. China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.46% or 12.97 points at 2,815.99. Taiwan Weighted rose 0.54% or 41.79 points at 7,779.91. However, Japan's Nikkei plunged 1.48% or 204.59 points at 13,644.97, Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.20% or 5.80 points at 2,956.36 and South Korea's Seoul Composite fell 0.74% or 12.72 points at 1,698.12

US markets ended lower yesterday, 24 June 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 34.93 points, or 0.29%, to 11,807.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.71 points, or 0.28%, to 1,314.29, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 17.46 points, or 0.73%, to 2,368.28.

Back home, equities extended losses for the fifth straight day yesterday, 24 June 2008. The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 186.74 points or 1.31% at 14,106.58 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty slumped 75.30 points or 1.76% at 4,191.10, on that day.

Sensex has lost 1590.32 points or 10.13% in five trading sessions, from its close of 15,696.90 on 17 June 2008, due to political uncertainty, and on fears of further rise in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India to combat inflation

The barometer index has shaved 6180.41 points or 30.46% in the calendar year 2008 so far from its close of 20,286.99 on 31 December 2008. It is down 7100.19 points or 33.48% from its all-time high of 21,206.77 struck on 10 January 2008.

As per provisional data, foreign funds yesterday, 24 June 2008, bought shares worth a net Rs 90.06 crore. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 475.94 crore.