Firm global indices signal positive outlook

Market is expected make further headways on firm global cues and yesterday's recovery after a sleepy start is likely to weigh on the market bias. Among the Asian indices, Nikkei has gained around 1% while Hang Seng, Kospi and Jakarta are trading with steady gains. Also a further decline in global crude oil prices could help the sentiment turn positive. However, dwindling FII inflows in the domestic market may hurt the investors sentiment. Action could be seen in banking, cement and oil stocks. Among the local indices, the Nifty could face resistance around 3700 and has a likely support at 3620.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after Britain's Barclays Plc and Dutch bank ABN AMRO confirmed they were in talks to merge. While the Dow Jones advanced by 116 points at 12226, the Nasdaq moved up by 21 points at 2394.

All the Indian floats finished in the green on the US bourses. Satyam Computers led the surge with gains of over 5% while Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, MTNL, HDFC Bank and VSNL rose over 3% each. Infosys, Dr Reddy's, Patni Computers and Rediff ended with steady gains.

While the Nymex light crude oil for April delivery fell by 52 cents to close at $56.59 a barrel. In the commodity space, the Comex gold for April series moved up by 40 cents to settle at $653.90 an ounce.