Gold futures extend gains on strong demand

Gold futures extended their gains on MCX on the back of strong festive season demand from jewellers and retailers. The sentiments improved further after soft US data knocked the dollar lower against a basket of currencies and weighed on stock markets, boosted the metal's appeal as an alternative asset. The contract for December delivery was trading at Rs 27418.00, up by 0.61% or Rs 166.00 from its previous closing of Rs 27252.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 7971.00 lots. The contract for February delivery was trading at Rs 27582.00, up by 0.61% or Rs 166.00 from its previous closing of Rs 27416.00. The open interest of the contract stood at 747.00 lots on MCX.

Sensex, Nifty flat; TCS & Hero Moto gain; Bajaj Auto falls

Equity benchmarks opened flat despite weak global cues. The Sensex fell 1.37 points to 26347.96 and the Nifty declined 0.65 points to 7863.35. About 432 shares have advanced, 530 shares declined, and 47 shares are unchanged. DLF shot up 6.62 percent, showing a smart recovery after losing nearly 30 percent in previous session due to Sebi order. Hero Motocorp and TCS gained nearly 2 percent ahead of second quarter earnings today later in the day. Tata Motors, BHEL and Tata Steel climbed over 1.5 percent. However, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto (post 29 percent fall in Q2 profit), Reliance Industries, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Power and Cairn India lost 1-2.5 percent.  The Indian rupee opened marginally lower on Thursday at 61.48 per dollar compared to 61.41 a dollar in previous session. Dollar hits a three-week low against the euro and a more than one-month low against the yen post weak US economic data that heightened concerns that the federal reserve would delay its first rate hike. Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Dollar weakness against global majors may not impact rupee significantly due to reduced custodial flows. The rupee is expected to trade today in a range of Rs 61.10-61.50/dollar." On the global front, Asian markets (barring Shanghai) were trading lower with the Nikkei falling over 2 percent. US stocks closed down but recovered significantly from historic intraday losses amid concerns about Europe, Ebola and the economy. Stocks lost nearly 3 percent during the day but recovered in the close. In Europe, stocks closed more than 2 percent lower as investors shunned risky assets on fears of crumbling global growth, weak economic data, and concerns about the political situation in Greece. In commodities, Brent crude continues its slump, slips below USD 84 per barrel.

Morning cues: Nifty likely to open on a jittery note

The Indian market on Thursday is likely to open on a jittery note mirroring the growth concerns in the US and the crash in Europe due to political uncertainty in Greece. However, the weakness is expected to be cushioned by a hint of BJP winning the assembly elections, as predicted by the opinion polls. The SGX Nifty was trading in red at 7878, down 74 points around 8:00 hrs. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 34.74 points to close at 26349.33 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 20.25 points to 7864. Growth concerns plague the markets. US stocks closed down but recovered significantly from historic intraday losses amid concerns about Europe, Ebola and the economy. Stocks lost nearly 3 percent during the day but recovered in the close. The CBOE volatility index cut half its gains after rising as much as 35 percent to trade above 30, its highest level since November 2011. Retail sales fell 0.3 percent in September, slightly more than the expected 0.2 percent decline. The producer price index for September fell 0.1 percent as opposed to expectations of a 0.1 percent gain. In Europe, stocks closed more than 2 percent lower as investors shunned risky assets on fears of crumbling global growth, weak economic data, and concerns about the political situation in Greece. Asia too is trading negative on weak US lead. In the currency space, dollar hits a three-week low against the euro and a more than one-month low against the yen post weak US economic data that heightened concerns that the federal reserve would delay its first rate hike. In commodities, Brent crude continues its slump, slips below USD 84 per barrel. From precious metals space - gold prices rise to USD 1240 an ounce following weak dollar against a basket of currencies Back home, telecom regulator, TRAI releases recommendations on spectrum valuation and reserve price for licences expiring in 2015-16. It also recommends auction of only spectrum held by service providers in 900 mega hertz band. In key earnings today, Q2 is expected to be a strong quarter for TCS. Dollar revenue may see a 7.3 percent growth to USD 3965 million, marginal improvement in margins seen. From autos, Hero Moto too may report good earnings with profits rising 43 percent. Bajaj Auto reported a mixed set of numbers for the second quarter. Revenues were at Rs 5,963 crore beating estimates, but net profit missed the street's view as the auto major reported an exceptional loss of Rs 340 crore due to a one-time penalty imposed by the government of Uttarakhand. Reliance infra and GVK Power suffered setback after Supreme Court said the dispute between the two companies over the hydropower projects in Uttarakhand has dragged on for far too long. The apex court asked the state government to consider scrapping the tender process