Anything above the 3000-mark is precarious for the stock markets. This has been the story during the last four months or so on the bourses. Eversince the nuclear tests, the markets have been struggling to cross this level. Only once, did the Sensex manage to touch the 3200-mark on September 29. This, however, proved short-lived. After hitting the 30-month low of 2764 on October 20, the markets recovered to 3004 towards the first week of November.

But everytime the sensex touched the 3000-mark it has faced stiff resistance, often falling back to as low as 2800 points. All along, it has largely been a game of speculation in a narrow field of just about 200-250 points.

The importance of the 3000-resistance level has to be taken seriously by investors.Evertime the sensex approaches this level, it is the talk of FII investment in the markets. True, FIIs have been investing. But the investments have been coming in trickles. This may or may not turn into a deluge, but the fact remains that investment decision is a difficult one at the 3000-level.

It's a catch-22 situation for investors. If you believe that the sensex propel is in anticipation of FII investments, you might be taking a risk. If you choose to ignore the market buzz of the dollar inflow, you might end up losing an opportunity. If (it could be a big if) the FIIs step in with funds on a sustained basis, the sensex could then be headed for a level much higher than what we are witnessing today. Either way, the 3000-mark is a wait and watch one for the market.