Groundnut Oil Declines By Rs 3, Sugar Follows Suit

With the sensex having entered hitherto unchartered territory, market players are keeping their fingers crossed.

They are hopeful that the current rally will continue, led largely by the foreign institutional investors. However, they add that it would be advisable to show caution in trading.

Operators believe that the sensex could cross the 4800 mark during intra-day trading today. However, a correction is very much around the corner, warned fund managers.

The bullish undertone for the stock markets is clear, but the de-escalation of the Kargil conflict does not mean that the border tensions are over and this could well emerge closer to the elections.

"The markets are now in unchartered territory. The expected correction should come about but this could come next week. The markets are obviously relying on the buying positions taken by FIIs,'' Prudential-ICICI AMC's chief investment officer Dileep Madgavkar said.

According to SVS Securities' vice-president Navin Agrawal, the next level expected for the sensex is 4860. "The market continues to be volatile this week. But it should be cautious in terms of carrying forward huge positions. The Kargil situation has not completely disappeared, the elections are just over a month away and thus one should not get complacent,'' Agrawal said.

"The market is showing good strength at current levels due to the sustained institutional buying interest. Sensex looks poised to touch 5000 levels in the short run," SSKI Securities' CEO R Sreesankar. He said that first quarter corporate numbers would play a crucial role in sustaining the tempo of the rally. "The market needs bullish news all the time. If Q1 numbers turn out be better than expected, the market could enter a new orbit altogether," Sreesankar added.

Most players said better performance for corporates would be very sector specific and it would be prudent not to judge the figures for a quarter as an indicative trend. ly