Market likely to open on a positive note

Indian equities are likely to open positive on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. SGX Nifty is trading at 5,952 (07.30 am), 20 points higher than Tuesday"s closeof 5,932.

Asian stocks rose amid speculation the Federal Reserve will step up monetary easing. Japanese benchmark index Nikkei 225 rose 52.12 points, or 0.55%, to trade at 9,577.68.

Oil prices moved a little higher as a meeting of the Federal Reserve got under way Tuesday. Benchmark oil rose 23 cents to finish at USD 85.79 a barrel in New York. It was the first time crude closed higher after falling for five straight sessions. In other futures trading Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, rose 68 cents to end at USD 108.01 a barrel in London.

US stocks extended gains on Tuesday after unexpectedly cheery data out of Europe and as the Federal Reserve was set to kick off a two-day policy meeting. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 78.56 points, or 0.60%, at 13,248.44.

European stocks advanced on Tuesday amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will expand stimulus measures and as German investor confidence in November beat forecasts. UK's benchmark index FTSE 100 advanced 28.01 points, or 1.08%, to end at 5,924.03.

In the spot market, the Dollar Index decreased 0.02% to 80.04 (20:43 ET).

World commodity prices gained on Tuesday with the increase in Reuters Jefferies CRB Index by 0.21%.