Bulls keep Nifty above 5800

Indian equity benchmarks were quiet in opening trade on the first day of financial year 2011-12, but they still maintained a positive trend. The Nifty was still holding the 5800 level amid that volatility. There was no major impact seen due to rise in Brent crude to USD 117 a barrel.

Infrastructure, FMCG and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group were leading the markets higher.

Among frontliners, Reliance Communications, Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Capital, Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank,

However, BPCL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, SBI and PNB were witnessing selling pressure.

At 9:18 hours IST, the 50-share NSE Nifty was trading at 5,843, up 10 points and the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 59 points at 19,504.

About 578 shares advanced as against 313 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

It’s like a final before the finals

It's the big showdown at Mohali today as sub-continent heavyweights India and Pakistan take on each other at the cricket pitch. Pakistan relies on its agile bowling line up with the likes of Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, while India’s strength lies in its colossal batting line up.

It is easily the biggest match of the World Cup (WC) with unbelievable amount of pressure on both the teams.

It’s like a final before the finals, says ace cricket commentator Ayaz Memon. "One of these two teams, India or Pakistan, is going into the finals but for the entire sub-continent, perhaps the entire cricketing world, this is the match most coveted, most looked forward too."

Memon said on paper India looks the clear favourites to win. “India with its strong batting line up, depth of experience, there has to be a skew in favour India. Having said that, Pakistan hasn’t reached this far in good grace from the other teams. They fought hard they played exceptionally well. They bowled exceptionally well and that I think is becoming the key in this tournament. Teams that have bowled well have succeeded. India is perhaps the only team where the batting has bettered their bowling.” He feels India's bowling has a lot of catching up to do.

Don't short the market now

Global markets have been subjected to unpredictable events in the past one month. Do the technicals suggest that the worst has been priced in? Well, Philip Roth chief technical analyst at Miller Tabak believes so. Though he doesn't see a big sustained move without preparation but a slight new high is possible according to him.

"Resistance for S&P 500 is seen at 1,330-1,340. For the Dow industrial average has resistance between 12,300 and 12,400. I think both these resistance areas can be bettered by a bit by maybe 3-5% but I think we should view this cyclical bull market as in the very mature stages," he told CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive interview.

The commodity outlook

Extremely positive on the metal space, Roth said though he doesn’t see a big move up right now, the long-term patterns seem favourable. "Probably the best-looking stock of all the metals is the least sensitive of all—gold,"

Two nations, One dream

India and Pakistan will come to an absolute standstill when 22 men - carrying the hopes of two emotionally charged-up nations - will put themselves in the line of fire for a place in the World Cup final.

All roads will lead to the northern part of India, where the city of Mohali will host the second semifinal of the 2011 World Cup and the match-up couldn't have been more even.

While expectations soar on both sides of the border, tempers are sure to reach a crescendo and emotions set to drool over when the two teams line up for their national anthems before an epic.

The journey for the two estranged neighbours though hasn't been without a few bumps before and during the World Cup.

Bloodshed in the Pakistan heartland during Sri Lanka's tour there had devastating consequences. The ICC snatched the World Cup holding rights from Pakistan as a penalty and cricket deprivation in terror-infested Pakistan deepened.

Pakistan bit the bullet by dropping the likes of Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik coming into the mega event after surfing over tsunamic tides of match-ixing in England.

Indecisiveness over naming the captain made the PCB look inept at handling team affairs. Only a turnaround in New Zealand helped restore sanity and Shahid Afridi was handed over the reins.

Unexpectedly, Pakistan took the blows on its chin, only to turn back and land a few in the World Cup. Wins over Sri Lanka and Australia lifted the gloom in the Pakistani dressing room. But the unpredictability of Pakistan did raise its head in the close shave against Canada and a hammering at the hands of New Zealand. However, in the quarterfinal, they demolished Caribbean dreams of a revival. And now, they have an Indian mountain to climb in the semifinals.

India's build-up, though more settled, had its fair share of problems. Piyush Chawla's inclusion didn't go down well with the fans, followed by a setback in the form of Praveen Kumar's elbow injury that ruled him out and gave S Sreesanth a new lease of life.

India's ride into the semifinals was far from one associated with tournament favourites. If the tie against England after scoring 338 was a heartbreak, unable to defend 14 runs in the last over against South Africa was depressing. A win in the final league game against West Indies brought back some confidence, which got a boost after Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina held their nerves to beat Australia in the quarterfinals.

And when India's semifinal against Pakistan was confirmed, the whole nation joined a bandwagon where everyone, while getting charged up, started to cash in.

India and Pakistan are not new to the hype that their face-offs generate. However, Indian skipper MS Dhoni downplayed that and urged his teammates to concentrate on the job at hand.

"Well, we know the kind of media hype India-Pakistan matches generate. We are not getting involved in all this. We need to know what we are expected to do and focus on that.

"It is not really affecting us. We all know it is a big tournament and we have prepared a lot. Our preparations have been the same like what we have done in the past few days," said Dhoni.

Commenting on the Pakistan team, Dhoni said they have a balanced bowling attack, which is also in good form.

"They have a good bowling attack. Their seamers and spinners are doing a good job; the part-timers are also doing well. In sub-continental conditions, these players play a role. All-rounders like Abdul Razzak and (Shahid) Afridi give them the liberty to play extra bowlers," he said.

Afridi sounded pretty composed and said the pressure was squarely on India.

"There is no pressure on us and that's why we are enjoying our cricket. We weren't the favourites coming into the tournament. But we have played above expectations. India were always the favourites and certainly the pressure will be on them," said Afridi.

About whether Shoaib Akhtar will play Wednesday's semifinal, Afridi said, "Shoaib is not 100 per cent fit but he is trying his best. We will take a decision on his inclusion this evening."

The occasion will also be graced by the Prime Ministers of the two estranged neighbours, after Yusuf Raza Gilani accepted Manmohan Singh's invitation to watch the match with him.

While politics has once again found cricket as an opportunity for diplomacy, the game will take centrestage on Wednesday when a charged-up Mohali will witness an epic unfold in the middle of the PCA stadium.

Asian markets trading higher

At 7: 48 am (IST), Asian markets were trading higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.19% or 273.40 poinst at 23,333.76. Japan's Nikkei surged 1.20% or 113.38 points at 9,572.46.
Singapore's Straits Times added 0.73% or 22.44 poinst at 3,079.39. South Korea's Seoul Composite rose 0.59% or 12.24 points at 2,084.37. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.61% or 52.56 points at 8,649.13.China's Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,956.21.