The local market is likely to witness a cautious opening on the back of tepid global cues. Wall Street ended mixed following reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials had raided at least three hedge funds for insider-trading. Markets in Asia were mostly lower in early trade today, tracking the US markets and worries that the Irish debt crisis would spill over to other European nations. The SGX Nifty was down 25 points at 5,985 against its previous close of 6,010 on Monday.

Bottom-fishing by investors on Monday, along with supportive global cues, ensured that the domestic market erased the losses suffered on Friday. The Nifty closed just above the 6,000 mark, while the Sensex was just short of the 20,000 levels. The market opened on a firm note on positive global cues. Across-the-board buying by institutional investors lifted the indices further as the session progressed. The Sensex closed 372.15 points (1.90%) higher at 19,957, while the Nifty settled 119.70 points (2.03%) up at 6,010.

The US markets closed mixed overnight, erasing early gains following reports that FBI officials had raided offices of at least three hedge funds for insider-trading. The development gave rise to concerns that other hedge funds would face a similar probe. Besides, speculations that the Irish debt crisis might spread to other nations in the region also weighed on the markets.

The Dow declined 24.97 points (0.22%) at 11,178. The S&P 500 shed 1.89 points (0.16%) at 1,198. On the other hand, the Nasdaq rose 13.90 points (0.55%) to 2,532.

Market in Asia were mostly lower this morning, tracking the US markets that ended lower on Monday and on lingering concerns over the European debt crisis. The Hong Kong government’s imposition of an additional stamp duty on properties that are sold within two years pulled the Hang Seng lower.

The Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.35%, the Hang Seng tanked 0.96%, the KLSE Composite declined 0.58%, the Straits Times fell 0.71% and Seoul Composite was down 0.25%. On the flip side, the Taiwan Weighted added 0.06% in early trade. The SGX Nifty was down 25 points at 5,985 against its previous close of 6,010 on Monday. The Nikkei 225 is closed for a local holiday today.

Back home, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday told the Supreme Court that it will complete investigation and file within three months a charge-sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

The apex court was informed by CBI counsel and senior advocate KK Venugopal that the agency will take two months to complete the investigation and in another one month, it will arrive at a conclusion and file the charge-sheet. DMK leader A Raja had resigned as telecom minister earlier this month in the wake of the spectrum scam.

Hitting out at the microfinance industry, former Reserve Bank of India governor YV Reddy on Monday said the microfinance institutions (MFIs) should be regulated as they are no better than money lenders.

The comments from the former central banker, who is credited with shielding Indian economy from the global financial meltdown, comes at a time when the multi-crore rupees micro finance industry is reeling under a severe crisis.