Stocks seen ranged; soft start likely

Stocks may take a breather on Tuesday given that global markets have taken a sideways stance. US stocks fell on Monday after American Express Co said the number of people struggling to make credit card payments grew, erasing earlier optimism that banks could return to profit in the downturn. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 7.01 points, or 0.10 percent, to end at 7,216.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.66 points, or 0.35 percent, to 753.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 27.48 points, or 1.92 percent, to 1,404.02. Asian stocks gained for a third day, led by financial and commodity companies, on optimism bank earnings will recover and metal prices were on the rise. The Nikkei climbed 1.5 per cent, Topix rose 1.47 per cent while Hang Seng slipped 0.54 per cent and Straits Times lost 1.43 per cent. Back home, Indian equities moved along with the global markets to close sharply higher Monday. Traders have been covering short positions ever since the mood in major markets turned bullish following some positive signals from the battered US banking sector. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 2777.25, up 58 points or 2.13 per cent from Friday’s close. The index touched an intra-day high of 2781.95 and low of 2701.95. Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 8,943.54, higher by 186.93 points or 2.13 per cent. The 30-share index hit high of 8955.73 and low of 8697.46 during the day. On Monday, foreign institutional investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs 102.34 in the Indian market, which closed in green territory. However, the domestic institutional investors were seen enthusiastic about the market as they were the net purchaser of equities over to Rs 253.39 crore.
Source: ET