Dalal Street to trade in range: Analysts

Stock markets are likely to trade in a range this week and will track global cues for any upward movement, analysts have said.
    
"Market will be range-bound till Thursday on concerns of settlement of derivative contracts, which are due this week," SMC Global vice-president Rajesh Jain said.
    
According to brokers, concerns of expiry of futures & options (F&O) and quarterly performance of blue-chip companies will guide the sentiments of investors.
    
"Market is likely to open with a gap on Monday and profit booking may be seen in Reliance Industries, which can drag the indices. RIL will be under pressure on concerns of its slightly below-the-expectation quarterly performance," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services head of research Alex Mathews said.
    
RIL, the country's most valued firm and which carries the maximum weight in Sensex constituents, on Friday posted a net profit of Rs 4,710 crore for the March quarter, which was slightly below the D-street's expectation, analysts said.
    
The Dalal Street's expectation was subdued as the company earned $7.5 for turning each barrel of crude oil into fuel, lower than $9.9 per barrel gross refining margin (GRM) in January-March quarter of 2008-09.
    
However, marketmen said positive global cues and sustained fund inflow from foreign institutional investors will push the key indices upward during the week.
    
"Positive global cues during the first three sessions may push the market upward, but later profit booking may emerge as Futures & Options (F&O) expiry is due on April 29," Bonanza Portfolio Assistant VP (Research) Avinash Gupta said.
    
Overseas investors have pumped in Rs 6,996 crore or $1.5 billion in Indian equities in April so far, taking their total inflow to Rs 27,641 crore ($6.1 billion) till now in 2010.
    
"Foreign institutional investors are bullish about Indian equity markets and inflow will continue in coming period also, as domestic currency is strengthening against US dollar," Jain added.
    
In the past week, the Bombay Stock Exchange's barometer Sensex -- that comprises 30 bluechip stocks -- advanced 0.58 per cent or 103 points, mainly on optimism of a good quarterly performance by the Indian companies.
    
Over the weekend, the US and European stock markets ended in green, with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rising 0.63 per cent, S&P 500 by 0.71 per cent, Nasdaq by 0.44 per cent and Britain's FTSE 100 by 1.03 per cent.