Key benchmark indices extended gains to hit fresh intraday highs in late trade, with investor sentiment boosted by data showing sustained buying of Indian stocks by foreign funds this month. Gains in European stocks also supported sentiment on the domestic bourses as the barometer index, BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty both hit 14-week highs. The Sensex was provisionally up 236.97 points or 1.36%, up about 200 points from the day's low. The market breadth was strong.

All the 13 sectoral indices on BSE were in the green. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) extended initial gains. Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC jumped nearly 3%. Banks stocks rose after strong Q1 results from private sector IndusInd Bank. HDFC Bank hit record high. Metal stocks rose as US aluminum giant Alcoa on Monday reported Q2 June 2012 earnings and revenue that beat analysts' estimates. Auto stocks rose across the board. Shares of power generation firms also participated in the rally.

Foreign institutional investors are buying Indian stocks this month. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 252.99 crore on Monday, 9 July 2012, as per provisional figures released by the stock exchanges. Earlier, FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 1903.70 from the secondary equity markets during four trading sessions from 3 July 2012 to 6 July 2012, as per data released by Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

The market edged higher in early trade after provisional data released by the stock exchanges showed FIIs remained buyers of Indian stocks on Monday, 9 July 2012. The market retained positive zone in morning trade. The market strengthened further to hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The market extended gains to hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. The market surged to fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade as European stocks rose after better-than-expected UK manufacturing data. The market extended gains to hit fresh intraday high in late trade.

As per provisional figures, the BSE Sensex was up 236.97 points or 1.36% to 17,628.95. The index jumped 239.21 points at the day's high of 17,631.19 in late trade, its highest level since 3 April 2012. The index rose 32.31 points at the day's low of 17,424.29 in early trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 70.85 points or 1.34% to 5,346, as per provisional figures. The index hit a high of 5,348.55 in intraday trade, its highest level since 3 April 2012. The index hit a low of 5,284.55 in intraday trade.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs 1993 crore, higher than Rs 1808 crore on Monday, 9 July 2012.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,717 shares rose and 1,193 shares fell. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, 28 stocks gained and the rest fell. Wipro and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shed by between 0.02% to 0.39%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.29%. The company last week said it has selected Technip as a technology supplier and engineering contractor to implement its Refinery Off-Gas Cracker (ROGC) project. This is part of the expansion project being executed at RIL's Jamnagar refinery and petrochemical complex in Gujarat. The ROGC plant will be amongst the largest ethylene crackers in the world and will be using refinery off-gas as feedstock, RIL said. The products from the plant will be utilised for the new downstream petrochemical plants being built at Jamnagar, RIL said.

RIL has bought back 3 crore shares for Rs 2144.73 crore till 22 June 2012 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set a maximum buyback price of Rs 870 for share buyback. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013. Last month, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said at the company's Annual General Meeting in Mumbai that the company's buyback program represents a highly accretive use of cash by the company and it will supplement earnings growth from operations, for higher EPS (earnings per share), in the near future.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC surged 2.88% to Rs 258.60, off the day's low of Rs 249.35.

Metal stocks rose as US aluminum giant Alcoa reported Q2 June 2012 earnings and revenue that beat analysts' estimates after an increase in orders from the auto and aerospace industries. Jindal Steel & Power, Sail, Hindalco Industries, Hindustan Zinc, Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Bhushan Steel, and Tata Steel rose by between 0.55% to 2.7%.

Although aluminum prices are down, the fundamentals of the aluminum market remain sound, Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa chairman and CEO, said in a statement on Monday, 9 July 2012. Alcoa backed its forecast for a 7% increase in global demand this year and predicted a coming aluminum shortage. Kleinfeld told analysts on a conference call that China is curtailing production, which he expects to bring the global inventory surplus into balance.

India's largest engineering & construction firm by sales L&T rose 2.11% after the company said during market hours today that Malaysia based Tamco Switchgear, a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T and part of the electrical & automation (E&A) business of L&T, has acquired Malaysia based Henikwon Corporation Sdn Bhd. Henikwon Corporation is a leading manufacturer of low voltage and medium voltage busduct systems. Henikwon brand is globally well recognized and offers high quality products under compliance to international quality standards. The Henikwon acquisition brings a strong customer base of large corporations to Tamco, L&T said.

Speaking on the acquisition, Chairman of Tamco Switchgear, S. C. Bhargava said, Henikwon provides a wide range of standard and custom-designed Busduct solutions. This acquisition will be complementary to the E&A portfolio and make comprehensive offerings for the building and infrastructure segments. It will further enhance our presence in South East Asia and in catering to Indian and Middle East markets.

India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) gained 1.11%. Bhel last month said it has secured a contract worth Rs 950 crore for a 1,020 megawatts hydroelectric project in Bhutan.

Among other capital goods stocks, BEML, Siemens, Thermax, ABB and Punj Lloyd rose by between 0.36% to 7.79%.

Banks stocks rose after strong Q1 results from private sector IndusInd Bank. The country's biggest commercial bank in terms of branch network State Bank of India rose 0.57%. The bank has raised interest rate by 25 basis points to 9% on fixed deposits for the tenure of three years to less than five years with effect from 1 July 2012. This is applicable for deposits below Rs 15 lakh.

Among other PSU banks, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank rose by between 1.15% to 3.06%.

India's second biggest private sector bank in terms of branch network HDFC Bank gained 2.04% to Rs 589.45. The stock hit a record high of Rs 591 in intraday trade today, 10 July 2012. The bank reduced lending rates by 20 basis points with effect from 30 June 2012. The bank has cut base rate to 9.8% from 10% and the benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) to 18.3% from 18.5%.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank gained 1.34%.

IndusInd Bank fell 0.25% on profit taking. The bank announced during market hours today that its net profit jumped 31.12% to Rs 236.26 crore on 41.36% growth in total income to Rs 1950.82 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011.

Top executives from India's commercial banks on Monday asked the central bank to ease its monetary policy by releasing more cash for lending to help revive demand amid a slowdown in the economy. They made the suggestion at a meeting of the Indian Banks' Association (IBA), the representative body of Indian banks, with officials of the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank holds such meetings ahead of its monetary policy reviews. The next policy review is on July 31.

IBA chairman Alok Misra said on Monday that the liquidity in the banking system is alright currently. But, should liquidity get tighter, the RBI should come in there, Mr. Misra said. A cut in the portion of deposits that banks must keep aside in cash is the best choice to improve liquidity, said Mr. Misra, who is also the chairman of state-run Bank of India. The central bank has reduced its cash reserve ratio by 1.25% since January to 4.75%. The RBI unexpectedly left its key lending rate unchanged at its last meeting in June, citing inflationary concerns.

Auto stocks rose across the board. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors gained 2.58% after global rating agency S&P on Monday, 9 July 2012, said it has raised its long-term corporate credit rating on Tata Motors and given it a positive outlook as it expects the company's cash flow to improve on account of strong sales at its UK-based unit Jaguar Land Rover Plc (JLR). S&P also said that it may further upgrade Tata Motors' ratings if JLR's risk profile improves or if Tata Motors is able to bring down its consolidated debt-to-operating profit ratio to 2.5. S&P raised Tata Motors' rating to BB from BB- previously and said it assesses the company's business risk as fair.

S&P said JLR's business risk profile has improved to fair from weak due to healthy vehicle sales -- particularly in emerging markets -- strong demand for Land Rover's sport-utility vehicles and introduction of the Evoque SUV. It said Evoque is expected to be the best-selling model for JLR in 2013. The rating agency said, however, that JLR still faces a challenge in repositioning the Jaguar brand in the competitive and technologically advanced luxury car market. JLR sells luxury sedans under the Jaguar brand.

India's largest utility vehicle maker by sales M&M gained 0.49%. The company on Friday, 6 July 2012, said it has tied up with Kenya's Simba Corp. to sell its utility vehicles and pickup trucks in the African nation. M&M will export its sport-utility vehicles Scorpio and XUV500, as well as the Genio and Maxximo pickup trucks to Kenya. The auto maker currently exports to more than 40 countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Australia and other European as well as South American nations. M&M already sells tractors in Kenya through a tie-up with Timsales, and also plans to introduce new vehicles in the country.

M&M's sales rose 16% to 41,322 units in June 2012 over June 2011. The Passenger Vehicles segment (which includes the UVs and Verito) has registered a growth of 23%, having sold 19,792 units in June 2012, as against 16,053 units during June 2011. The company announced a 24% rise in its auto sales numbers, which stood at 1,26,029 units during the first quarter of FY 2012-13 as against 1,01,997 during the first quarter of FY 2011-12.

Mahindra & Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) maintained its leadership position in the tractor industry in June 2012. Domestic sales in June 2012 stood at 22,493 units, as against 21,552 units during June 2011. Total tractor sales (domestic plus exports) in June 2012 stood at 23,765 units, as against 22,730 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month of June 2012 stood at 1,272 units.

Renault SA last week introduced sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Duster in India as part of an aggressive strategy by the French auto maker to make deeper inroads in one of the world's biggest automobile markets. The Duster has a starting price of Rs 7.19 lakh for the base gasoline model and Rs 7.99 lakh for the base diesel model at New Delhi dealerships, pitching it in competition with SUVs from market leader Mahindra & Mahindra as well as Tata Motors and Force Motors.

India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 2.72%. The company early last week said its total sales jumped 20.3% to 96,597 units in June 2012 over June 2011.

Automobile industry body -- the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) -- today, 10 July 2012, cut its forecast of domestic car sales for the year through March 2013 to 9%-11% from 10%-12% earlier. But it raised the guidance for total domestic car and sport-utility vehicle (SUV) sales to 11%-13% from 10%-12% due to expectations of higher SUV sales, most of which run on diesel. Sales of diesel cars and SUVs are surging as the price of diesel in India remains cheaper than petrol. In New Delhi diesel is 39% cheaper than petrol.

India's second largest motorcycle maker by sales Bajaj Auto gained 1.39%. As per recent reports, the company has cut prices of its products in Sri Lanka to bring back the volumes lost post the excise duty hike in that country. Bajaj Auto has reportedly cut retail prices of 3-wheelers by 10% and 2-wheelers to the tune of 5-14%, depending on the model, in Sri Lanka. The hit due to the price cut will be shared between the company and the dealers. Sri Lanka accounts for almost 5-7% of the total volumes of the company. It is one of the biggest markets for the auto major in terms of export and accounts for 17-18% of export sales.

Bajaj Auto early last week said its total sales fell 6% to 3.45 lakh units in June 2012 over June 2011. The company's commercial vehicles sales plunged 39% to 26,785 units in June 2012 over June 2011 as three-wheeler exports to Sri Lanka and Egypt were disrupted in June 2012. Bajaj Auto expects sales to normalise from July 2012 onwards.

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) gained 1.87%. The company launched a 125 cubic-centimeter motorcycle Ignitor last week. The Ignitor motorcycle will be available in two versions, costing Rs 55,900 and Rs 57,900 at dealerships in New Delhi, the company said. The latest model follows the 110cc Maestro scooter, which was launched in March, and the 150cc Impulse motorcycle, introduced last October. The Ignitor will add to the Glamour and the Super Splendor -- the two 125cc motorcycle models sold currently by Hero MotoCorp. Hero MotoCorp sells motorcycles with 100cc to 225cc engines. It also sells two scooter models, including the Maestro.

Hero MotoCorp's total sales rose 4.26% to 5,34,091 units in June 2012 over June 2011. With sales of 5,34,091 units in the month of June, HMCL's cumulative sales for the first quarter (April-June) of this financial year (2012-13) has touched 16,42,292 units -- its highest-ever sales in any single quarter.

TVS Motor Company rose 1.08%, with the stock extending Monday's near 8% rally. The company said during market hours on Monday that it is in talks with German auto-maker BMW's motorcycle division -- BMW Motorrad -- for a technology tie up. However, nothing has been firmed up as yet, TVS Motor said in a statement.

Ashok Leyland rose 1.56%. The company's total sales rose 28% to 10,244 units in June 2012 over June 2011. Small commercial vehicle Dost clocked sales of 2,725 units in June 2012. Excluding the sales of Dost, total sales declined by 6% to 7,519 units in June 2012 over June 2011. Dost is manufactured in association with Nissan Motor Company of Japan at Ashok Leyland's facility in Tamil Nadu.

Power generation stocks extended recent strong gains as lower international coal prices could boost profitability. GMR Infrastructure, Lanco Infratech, JSW Energy, Reliance Power, Adani Power, GVK Power Infrastructure, Tata Power Company, and Reliance Infrastructure gained by between 2.34% to 4.06%. But, NTPC fell 0.03%. Fall in international coal prices this year could boost profitability of those power generation firms which buy imported coal in the spot market. Coal is the largest source of energy for electricity generation.

Tata Power Company rose 0.15%, with the stock reversing initial losses. Global rating agency Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) has cut its outlook on the power generation major to negative from stable while affirming its 'BB-' long term corporate credit rating on the firm and its 'BB-' issue rating on the company's senior unsecured notes. S&P said it may lower the rating on Tata Power if the company is unable to secure waiver from its lenders on the breach of covenant. Another trigger for the rating downgrade could be increase in expenditure due to the Mundra ultra mega power (UMPP) project or otherwise resulting into substantial weakness in Tata Power's financial risk profile.

S&P said it could upgrade the outlook on Tata Power to stable if Tata Power secures the necessary waiver and if the construction at the Mundra UMPP continues as planned and is within budget. S&P may also consider an upward revision in outlook in case if Tata Power faces no material deterioration in its business and sustainably maintains its financials risk profile such that its ratio of funds from operations to adjusted debt is 10% to 12%.

An India-Mauritius joint panel will in August discuss a series of proposals to review the double taxation avoidance treaty between the two nations, Mauritius Foreign Minister Arvin Boolell said on Thursday, 5 July 2012. India has been looking to negotiate the double taxation avoidance agreement with Mauritius for the past few years to check so-called round tripping and other potential abuses. Round tripping entails moving money out of one country to another, and getting it back under the garb of foreign capital. Capital gains tax is close to zero in Mauritius and almost 40% of investments into India come through the island nation.

Under the bilateral agreement, capital gains from sale of securities can be taxed only in Mauritius. India and Mauritius will discuss the renegotiation of the tax pact between 22-24 August in Mauritius. The India-Mauritius joint working group will also discuss the inclusion of a so-called limitation of benefit clause, similar to the Singapore tax treaty with India, to ensure only genuine Mauritius-based companies are benefited. India's tax agreement with Singapore says that only those companies that spend a minimum of $200,000 (about Rs 1 crore) in Singapore can avail the benefits of the treaty.

Sanctity of tax residency certificates issued by a country to companies operating in its jurisdiction to enable the firms to claim tax benefits under various treaties is another issue between India and Mauritius. While India in this year's national budget said the certificates are a necessary but not sufficient condition, Mauritius wants those issued by it honoured.

Draft guidelines issued by Indian government recently for implementing the controversial anti-avoidance tax proposal viz. the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) state that GAAR provisions should be invoked on a foreign institutional investor (FII), if it chooses to take a treaty benefit, but would not in any case be invoked in the case of the non-resident investors of the FII. The draft guidelines suggested that the onus of proving wrongdoing should be on the authorities.

The Centre's gross direct tax collections rose 6.77% to Rs 111182 crore in Q1 June 2012 over Q1 June 2011. Gross collection of corporate taxes rose 3.48% to Rs 70594 crore. Gross collection of personal income tax rose 13% to Rs 40520 crore. The Centre's net direct tax collections jumped 47.16% to Rs 84273 crore. Collection from the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) declined 0.52% to Rs 952 crore.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said in a newspaper interview last week that he has identified controlling the fiscal deficit, achieving clarity on tax matters, reviving the mutual funds and insurance industries, clearing a backlog of foreign investment proposals and boosting infrastructure as his focus areas in the short term. Singh said there will be no arbitrariness in tax matters. The statement assumes significance in the context of a raging controversy over the Income Tax amendment to re-open tax demands with retrospective effect from companies like Vodafone over acquisition of companies having operations in India but registered abroad to avoid taxes.

Singh last month said he is chalking out plan for the country's economic revival. Singh last month took additional charge at the finance ministry after Pranab Mukherjee resigned as finance minister on 26 June 2012 to contest the presidential polls scheduled on 19 July 2012. Mr. Mukherjee is the leading contender in the July 19 presidential election, having been nominated by the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance government for the largely ceremonial post.

The next major trigger for the stock market is Q1 June 2012 corporate earnings, which will start trickling from this week. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the result which could cause revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the current year or the next year. A deceleration in top line growth of India Inc amid economic slowdown and slowdown in investment cycle will weigh on bottom line growth in Q1 June 2012 as the core operating profit margin could be negatively impacted by deceleration in top line growth.

HDFC announces Q1 results on 11 July 2012. IT heavyweights, Infosys and TCS unveil Q1 results on 12 July 2012. HDFC Bank declares its Q1 results on 13 July 2012. Axis Bank announces Q1 results on 17 July 2012. Bajaj Auto reports Q1 results on 18 July 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Laboratories unveil Q1 results on 19 July 2012. Asian Paints announces Q1 results on 20 July 2012.

L&T and Cairn India unveil Q1 results on 23 July 2012. Wipro announces Q1 results on 24 July 2012. Bhel announces Q1 results on 26 July 2012. Ambuja Cements announces Q2 June 2012 results on the same day. ICICI Bank announces Q1 results on 27 July 2012. Maruti Suzuki India announces Q1 results on 28 July 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra announces Q1 results on 8 August 2012. Ranbaxy Laboratories announces Q2 June 2012 results on 9 August 2012.

On macro front, the government will announce data on industrial production (IIP) for May 2012 on Thursday, 12 July 2012. Industrial production growth slowed sharply to 0.1% in April due to contraction in capital goods and dip in manufacturing output.

Concerns on the monsoon front remain. For the country as a whole, seasonal rainfall during this year's monsoon was 30% below the long period average (LPA) till 4 July 2012. Out of 36 meteorological subdivisions, the rainfall was excess/normal over 10, deficient in 17 and scanty in 9 sub-divisions. In area-wise distribution, 18% area of the country received excess/normal rainfall. Remaining 72% area received deficient/scanty rainfall.

According to the latest information received from the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, rice has been sown in 55.40 lakh hectare, coarse cereals in 21.95 lakh hectare and oilseeds in 26.55 lakh hectare so far. Though sowing of rice, coarse cereals and oilseeds is lagging behind, sowing of pulses has picked up and is now sown in 66 thousand hectares more than this time last year, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Friday, 6 July 2012. Sugarcane has been sown in 2.52 lakh ha and cotton in 3.78 lakh ha more than last year, it said.

The monsoon rains--which make up around 70% of India's annual rainfall--are crucial to the nation's agriculture sector and broader economy. More than 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed. The timing, distribution and quantity of rainfall are all important for crops.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that rainfall would occur at many places along the west coast, central & east India and northeastern states throughout this week. Rainfall would also occur at many places over Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand on many days of the week, IMD said in its weekly updated on Friday, 6 July 2012. Rain/thundershowers would occur at a few places over Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and east Rajasthan Gujarat region, Madhya Maharashtra, Marathawada, Telangana and north coastal Andhra Pradesh on many days of the week, the IMD has said.

European stocks edged higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected UK manufacturing data and after euro-area governments moved to support Spanish banks. Key benchmark indices in Germany, France and UK rose by between 0.79% to 1.28%.

The UK Office for National Statistics on Tuesday said that manufacturing output in UK rose 1.2% on a monthly basis in May, exceeding analysts' expectations of a 0.2% decline. Another data showed UK's seasonally adjusted trade deficit in goods narrowed to 8.4 billion pounds ($13 billion) in May from 9.7 billion pounds in April.

Euro zone ministers agreed early Tuesday to grant Spain an extra year until 2014 to reach its deficit reduction targets in exchange for further budget savings and set the parameters of an aid package for Madrid's ailing banks. The decisions were aimed at preventing the currency area's fourth largest economy, mired in a worsening recession, from needing a full state bailout which would stretch the limits of Europe's rescue fund and plunge it deeper into a debt crisis. The Eurogroup supports the recently adopted Commission recommendation to extend the deadline for the correction of the excessive deficit in Spain by one year to 2014, ministers said in a statement.

Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker said early Tuesday at a televised news conference that 30 billion euros ($36.9 billion) would be available to assist Spain's banks by the end of the month. Spain announced in early June that it would seek assistance from the European Union of up to euro 100 billion to shore up its banking sector, hit hard by bad loans that resulted from the collapse of the Spanish housing market.

European Union (EU) leaders agreed in June 2012 that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a bailout program, should be allowed to inject capital directly into ailing Spanish banks, once the euro zone created a banking regulator. On Tuesday, 10 July 2011, Germany's Constitutional Court convenes to issue a decision on the viability of the bailout fund after it was cleared by Germany's parliament. The decision is crucial because it will pave the way for implementation of ESM.

Italian government tests sentiment in debt markets with a bond sale scheduled on Friday, 13 July 2012.

Most Asian stocks declined on Tuesday, 10 July 2012, after Chinese trade data pointed to more signs of stress in the global economy. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan fell by between 0.16% to 0.8%. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia and Singapore rose by between 0.62% to 1.21% respectively.

China's imports rose 6.3% in June 2012 from a year earlier, the customs administration said on Tuesday. Exports grew 11.3% in June from a year earlier, faster than market expectations though easing from May's surprisingly strong rise of 15.3 percent. That left the country with a trade surplus of $31.7 billion in June.

The fundamental conditions necessary for a rebound in China's trade data aren't solid, the country's customs said on Tuesday after the release of trade data for June 2012. Global uncertainty stemming from factors such as the euro zone sovereign debt crisis will continue to adversely affect Chinese trade, the customs office said in a statement. Nevertheless, China could achieve its goal of 10% trade growth if the debt crisis doesn't deteriorate, it said.

China's foreign direct investment is stabilizing and will show a modest rise for the full year, Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Chao said on Tuesday. Mr. Wang said that China's pro-growth and consumption-boosting policies have been increasing the confidence of foreign investors. China has used an array of policies to boost growth, cutting interest rates twice, offering fresh tax breaks and speeding up infrastructure projects. But the vice minister also conceded that the FDI environment is complicated this year, given the sluggish global growth and rising domestic production costs.

Mr. Wang pointed to a lingering European debt crisis, US economic difficulties and increasing competition from other emerging markets as major factors affecting China's FDI levels this year.

China is due to release Q2 June 2012 GDP growth data, along with industrial output and other June metrics, on Friday, 13 July 2012.

Australian business confidence fell to a 10-month low in June as concern that Europe's debt crisis will slow Chinese growth overshadowed central bank interest-rate reductions, a private survey showed.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 45 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 10 July 2012. US Stocks slipped on Monday as weak economic data in Asia raised concerns about a slowdown in global growth and as investors were hesitant to make big bets ahead of the upcoming earnings season in the United States. Minutes of the US Federal Open Market Committee's mid-June policy meeting on US interest rates will be released on Wednesday, 11 July 2012. This could provide clues on how policy makers view the economy and how seriously they are considering new stimulus measures.

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