The market is likely to open firm. ACC and Ambuja Cements will be watched as they unveil quarterly results on Thursday, 19 April 2012. Asian markets were trading mixed.

Key benchmark indices extended gains for third day on Tuesday, 18 April 2012 to settle with small gains. The BSE Sensex was up 34.45 points or 0.2% to 17,392.39, its highest closing level since 4 April 2012.

India received $2.21 billion in foreign direct investment in February, showing an annual growth of 74%, taking cumulative inflows to $28.40 billion for the April-February period of the last fiscal.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 221.63 crore on Wednesday, 18 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday ahead of a key Spanish bond sale that would test the market's risk appetite. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea were down by between 0.04% to 0.57%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong were up by between 0.07% to 0.41%.

US stocks declined on Wednesday after earnings from IBM and Intel failed to cheer the market. Risk appetite faded as concerns about the financial health of Spain pushed up demand for US treasuries. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 82.79 points, or 0.63%, at 13,032.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 5.64 points, or 0.41%, at 1,385.14 and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 11.37 points, or 0.37%, at 3,031.45.