Domestic equity markets finished lower on Tuesday as strong growth in the index of industrial production (IIP) for November 2009 raised apprehensions about policy tightening among investors. The IIP for the month under review has surged by 11.70% against 2.5% in the year ago period. After witnessing good start in the morning on the back of better-than-expected third quarter earnings from Infosys Technologies, the key indices edged lower within few minutes of trade in line with Asian peers. Key indices touched fresh lows for the day in late trades led by persistent selling in realty, metal and banking stocks. The 50-share NSE Nifty took support at psychological level of 5200 and managed to sign off trade above this mark. Though, there were good triggers for the markets in trade, investors remained cautious tracking subdued European equities and lower US index futures. Shares from software and technology counters remained on the market participants' radar during the entire session. The broader indices that hogged the limelight in past couple of sessions, also witnessed heavy sell-off in the latter part of the day. Finally, the BSE Sensex plummeted 104.20 points or 0.59% to end at 17,422.51, while the S&P CNX Nifty corrected 39 points or 0.74% to finish at 5210.40.

The US markets closed lower on Tuesday, it was the disappointing profit report from Alcoa Inc. and moves by China to curtail growth that raised apprehension about the economic recovery once again. Alcoa, that reported its earnings and revenue last day, fell short of market expectations. It blamed weakness in aerospace, construction and gas turbines for the miss, on the same time China tightened its monetary policy and raised CRR, the amount of money that banks must hold in reserve. The Dow Jones industrial average declined by 36.73 points, or 0.34%, to 10,627.26. The S&P 500 index lost 10.76 points, or 0.94%, to 1,136.22 while the Nasdaq composite index fell 30.10 points, or 1.30%, to 2,282.31.

Crude prices declined once again on Tuesday as the weather condition across the world showed sign of ease from chill, also the tightening of monetary policy by China led to the speculation that energy demand in the country may decline. It was the first time this year a barrel has closed below $81 despite a decline in dollar. The weather has boosted demand for heating oil in the US Northeast, and natural gas almost everywhere. Benchmark crude for February delivery fell $1.73 to settle at $80.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for February delivery fell $1.67 to settle at $79.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Indian rupee pared some gains on Tuesday, a day after it touched its 16 month high. The domestic currency was in somber mood since beginning tracking the weakness in stock markets which declined by more than half a percent. The sentiments for the rupee also turned weak after the dollar bounced back against Yen and Euro. Finally the rupee closed at 45.72, 39 paise lower compared to its Monday's close of 45.33/34.

The FII on Tuesday were the net buyers in both equity as well as debt segments. In equity segment the gross buying was of Rs 7538.60 crore against gross sell of Rs 2794.60 crore, while in the debt segment the gross purchase was of Rs 645.70 crore with sales of Rs 557.70 crore.

The US markets closed lower on Tuesday, the disappointing numbers from Aluminium giant Alcoa once again led to the apprehension that the economy might take more time to fully recover. The Asian markets are mostly trading in red today with some indices witnessing cut of more than 1%. The domestic markets that over looked two good news, better than expected results of Infosys and good IIP numbers in previous trading is likely to continue its sluggish trend and may start lower under the influence of weak global sentiments. The commodity and banking pack is likely to continue dragging the markets even today.  

Support and Resistance: S&P CNX Nifty and BSE Sensex

                                                          Nifty Top volumes

• REpower, a unit of Suzlon Energy has signed an agreement with its parent company, to promote product sales in markets where Suzlon has a stronger presence.
• The steel ministry is planning to set up a special arm under SAIL to lead overseas acquisitions, particularly in the mining sector.
• RIL has realized a lower premium on February naphtha because of higher arbitrage volumes expected to arrive in Asia. The company sold naphtha cargo for about ten dollars lower than last month.
• Tata Steel is planning to set up a 6 million tonne integrated greenfield steel plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district.
• Bharti Airtel had agreed to buy 70 percent of Bangladesh's Warid Telecom in its first overseas acquisition.

Stainless steel producer, Varun Industries has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mysore Sales International (MSIL), a government of Karnataka company. The MoU is initially for the period of three years with an option to renew t...