Morning Bell !!!!!.....Short covering helped the market, Rupee hit an all-time low of 52.44 to the dollar

SENSEX 16055.41   109.31 (0.69%)                                          NIFTY 4805.90   27.55 (0.58%)

Indian Markets

The Indian equity benchmarks—Sensex and Nifty—opened above the 16,000 and 4,800 mark, respectively. Short covering helped the market. It was warranted after a fall of more than 1,600 points on the Sensex in the last eight days.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 135 points at 16,081.10 led by 27 stocks. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 39.6 points to 4,817.95 amid volatility.

The market shrugged off the falling rupee. It hit an all-time low of 52.44 to the dollar today. It was trading at 52.43 a dollar, down 27 paise from the previous closing price. It was down by 46 paise to 70.70 a euro.

Indian equity benchmarks fell for the eighth consecutive session on Monday. The Sensex has now shed more than 1600 points in eight days, tracking the sharp fall in the Indian rupee as it fell to fresh 32-month lows. Huge selling by foreign investors coupled with rising concerns over US and eurozone debt crisis helped the bears to gain control.

While the BSE Sensex finally closed 425.4pts or 2.6% lower at 15,946.1, the Nifty lost 127.5pts or 2.6% to close at 4,778.4. Broad market indices too ended lower as the BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices shed 1.86% and 1.68% respectively.

US Markets

Uncertainty caused all three major indexes to fall more than 2.5% for most of the trading day with the Dow losing more than 300 points at times. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 249 points lower, or down 2.1%; the S&P 500 lost 23 points, or 1.9%; and the Nasdaq composite fell 49 points, or 1.9%.

Asian Markets

Today, the Asian indices are trading on a mix note. Hang Seng, Shanghai & Nikkei are trading marginally lower by 0.1%, while Taiwan, Kospi & Strait Times are trading higher by 0.1%, 0.4% & 0.4% respectively.

Currencies & Commodities

All the Metal prices ended lower with Aluminum & Copper falling by 0.4% & 3.6% respectively. Zinc & Nickel ended lower by 0.3% & 1.5% respectively. Oil for January delivery slipped 50 cents to $97.17 a barrel. Gold futures for December delivery lost $46.50 to $1,678.60 an ounce.

Outlook for Today

After a sharp fall yesterday, we expect the Indian markets to open on a positive note. During the latter half of the session, it could take cues from the Dow Futures & European markets for further direction. Immediate support for Nifty is at 4741, while resistance is at 4874. Among the sectoral indices, IT, Metals & Oil & Gas look weak, while Banks could do well today.

Source-HDFCSECURITY