If the Nifty closes below 6,175, the index may head lower

Ahead of the February futures and options expiry the Indian market on Tuesday witnessed a highly volatile session. The indices opened in the green however soon started giving up gains and by the beginning of the noon session entered the negative zone. However after about an hour of effort to revive, the benchmarks could finally manage staying in the green and close in the positive for the third consecutive session. On Monday, we had mentioned that the indices may continue to head higher and level of 6,145 on the Nifty may act as support. The index managed sustaining itself above the level.

The BSE 30-share Sensex opened at 20,878 and moved in the range of 20,778 and 20,913 and closed at 20,852 (up 41 points or 0.20%) while NSE Nifty opened at 6,206 and moved between 6,177 and 6,217 and closed at 6,200 (up 14 points or 0.23%). The NSE recorded a volume of 50.02 crore shares.

The Bimal Jalan panel, which scrutinised applications for new bank licences, on Tuesday submitted its report along with shortlisted entities to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). RBI had constituted the Jalan committee to examine the fit-and-proper criteria, business plans, corporate governance practices, etc, of applicants.

After finance minister P Chidambaram last week expressed disapproval about the RBI focusing more on fighting inflation, the central bank governor Raghuram Rajan in a television interview, which was broadcast on Monday, said "It's not as if the government is on a different page on what we've been doing on inflation thus far. They may have different views on what they would like to see done, but there is a process, there is a conversation. I think there is fair amount of coordination at the highest level". Rajan said the central bank panel report on inflation was consistent with the government's stance. "We have a committee which has suggested a target, which is also by the way, consistent with the process the finance ministry's committee has suggested, so there is no disagreement about the broader need to get a framework in place. I think in terms of how I see the process, is really that the government sets the objective, and the central bank delivers on that objective," Rajan said.

Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday refused to answer queries on the FIR filed against him and industrialist Mukesh Ambani in Delhi in connection with the pricing of natural gas. He was speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate the new building to house the Environment Ministry. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took the step of ordering the state's anti-corruption wing to register a case against Mukesh Ambani and Veerappa Moily, accusing India's richest man and the oil minister of colluding to deliver a windfall to Reliance Industries by doubling natural gas prices.

US indices closed in the positive on Monday. US default risk has fallen to about half of what it was four months ago, trading near Germany’s level as the American economy outperforms that of the European nation. The cost to protect US debt against non-payment through credit-default swaps was 26.5 basis points, falling from 46 basis points in October. Germany’s was 25 basis points.

The latest data showed the Chicago Fed National Activity index fell to -0.39 in January from 0.16 in December while financial data firm Markit's preliminary February reading on the services sector fell to 52.7 from 56.7.

Among the Asian indices, four indices closed in the positive while five closed in the negative. Nikkei 225 (up 1.44%) was the top gainer while Shanghai Composite (down 2.04%) was the top loser.

European indices were trading in the red while US Futures were trading marginally lower.