• The market may see a flat-to-negative start with most Asian markets recovering after faltering in early trade today. The S&P CNX Nifty futures for February 2010 expiry were trading 2.5 points lower in Singapore. Asian markets were trading mixed today while US markets suffered a severe setback on Monday with the Dow sliding below the 10,000 mark.

• Asian stocks were trading mixed today, 9 February 2010. The key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan were up by between 0.10% to 1.70%. However, indices in Singapore and Japan were down 0.44% and 0.68% respectively.

• US markets edged lower on Monday, 8 February 2010, as investors sold financial shares due to heightened concerns about the euro zone’s sovereign debt troubles, sending the Dow below 10,000 for the first time since November 2009.

• According to EPFR Global, that tracks foreign inflows, emerging market equity funds lost $1.6 billion in weekly withdrawals, the biggest outflows in 24 weeks.

• Markets across the globe have been under pressure recently following the recent European fiscal woes, rising US jobless claims and China holding back the bank lending also played the spoilsport.

• Back home, equities have been in a tailspin recently following unwinding of dollar carry trade, muted expectations in the run-up to the Union budget 2010-11 and concerns over valuations. Rising fears of possibility that the government may start to unwind its fiscal stimulus in the forthcoming budget also added to woes.

• Government on Monday, 8 February 2010, forecast its economic growth for the fiscal year ended March 2010 at 7.2%, as against 6.7% achieved in the previous fiscal, raising fears of possibility that the government may start to unwind its fiscal stimulus in the forthcoming budget. The advance estimates of the country’s gross domestic product released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) today forecasts a growth of 9.9% in services and 8.9% in manufacturing, the highest among the eight broader economic activities.