• The market may gain tracking firm Asian stocks after US stocks surged on Monday. Higher advance tax payment by India Inc may further boost sentiment.

• Advance tax payments by Indian firms rose an annual 24 % in October-December, signaling higher corporate profits and raising prospects that the country may exceed the target for direct taxes, a finance ministry official said on Monday. The corporates paid about Rs 55,900 crore inadvance tax in the December quarter compared to about Rs 50500 crore during July-September quarter, and about Rs 41,600 crore during the year-ago quarter.

• Top 100 firms’ advance tax payments were up more than 30 % in the December quarter. The net direct tax receipts, which include corporate tax and income tax paid by individual tax payers grew by about 8.5 % during October-December compared to a year ago.

• India’s food-price inflation cannot be tackled through monetary and other policy steps, while inflationary expectations will not stay long, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said on Monday. Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister’s economic advisor C Rangarajan said India’s central bank may have to raise the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to drain money from the banking system if prices do not decline in December.

• Asian stocks rose on Tuesday on course for its first gain in four days, as the weaker yen boosted the earnings outlook for Japanese makers of electronics and cars and after metal prices advanced.

• Wall Street gained on Monday with the Nasdaq closing at a new 15-month high. Positive earnings, upgrades for Alcoa and Intel and the senate health-care bill advancing triggered gains despite the dollar index gradually gaining traction.

• As per provisional figures on NSE, foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 291.94 crore and domestic funds bought shares worth Rs 353.83 crore on Monday.