Market likely to open on a positive note

Indian equities are likely to open positive on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. SGX Nifty is trading at 5,685.5 (07.16 a.m.), 24.5 points higher than Wednesday"s closeof 5,661.

Asian stocks rose as Premier Wen Jiabao said China"s economy was relatively good ahead of today"s report on gross domestic product. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 rose 98.81 points, or 1.12%, to trade at 8,905.36.

Oil prices rose USD 92 a barrel Wednesday in international markets. Benchmark oil gained 3 cents to USD 92.12. It rose as high as USD 92.85 a barrel in the morning after gains in European stocks. But then the price dipped after the U.S. government reported a bigger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude supplies. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 78 cents to USD 113.22 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

US stocks traded higher on Wednesday amid stronger-than-expectation housing data, overcoming negative earning reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5.22 points, or 0.04%, to 13,557.

European stocks rose on Wednesday, the longest winning streak in five weeks, as Moody"s Investors Service kept its investment-grade debt rating on Spain and U.S. new-home construction surged to a four-year high. UK"s benchmark index FTSE 100 advanced 40.37 points, or 0.69%, to end at 5,910.83.

In the spot market, the Dollar Index increased 0.12% to 79.11 (21:32 ET).

World commodity prices gained on Wednesday with the increase in Reuters Jefferies CRB Index by 0.53%.