Sensex, Nifty to open on a weak note

ECB is expected to announce more stimulus for the eurozone today with an aggressive expansion of its bond-buying program. Whether it cuts interest rates remains to be seen. Global cues are weak. The Dow lost 0.9% while S&P 500 fell 1.1%. Nasdaq shed 0.6%

The downpour in Chennai has hurt IT operations and affected a couple of auto companies besides of course bringing most activities in the city to a standstill. The market has its own share of worries to tide over. Indian rupee remained under pressure, weighed by usual concerns of a Fed rate hike. Fed Forward rate curves are now suggesting 75% probability of a move on the rates. The volatility will increase as we move towards December 16th Fed policy meeting. Fed Chief Janet Yellen indicated that a December rate hike is likely. Yellen elaborated that if Fed procrastinates the process of policy normalization then the central bank will be compelled to tighten monetary policy relatively rapidly in order to avert certain economic parameters from substantially exceeding the prescribed limits.  Although 25 basis hike on December 16th is a done deal, there are still concerns of Fed getting aggressive if the economy shows signs of successfully absorbing the first rate hike.

The outlook is a weak start. ECB is expected to announce more stimulus for the eurozone today with an aggressive expansion of its bond-buying program. Whether it cuts interest rates remains to be seen. Global cues are weak. The Dow lost 0.9% while S&P 500 fell 1.1%. Nasdaq shed 0.6%. Dena Bank could be in focus as it considers raising funds via equity.

India received $16.6 billion in foreign direct investment in the first half of the current fiscal, a 13% increase from $14.69 billion recorded a year ago, data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) showed.

The Union cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in 15 sectors announced and notified last month. The government had raised the foreign investment limit for some sectors, eased the conditions for others and put many on the automatic route in a significant policy drive on November 10, says a report.

Coal India Ltd. (CIL) recorded an increase of 30 million tonnes (MT) in its off-take during April-November this year as against 12 MT during the same period last year.

The Government has decided to order a test of all diesel passenger car models in the country in the next six months to check for possible violations of emission norms.

The Government has ordered a forensic probe into the alleged financial irregularities in outward foreign remittances of ~INR 6,000 crore from a Bank of Baroda branch.

The Government on Wednesday said that it has no plans to disinvest stake in BSNL and MTNL.

Chennai rains came down heavily on software companies as BSE IT ended in red on Wednesday, dropping nearly 1% to Rs. 10849.09. The heavy showers seem to have affected the functioning of the software firms considerably, despite the companies adopting the Business Continuity Plan.

Heavy industries and public enterprises minister Anant Geete reportedly said Volkswagen was guilty of fitting emission cheating software in Indian cars, calling it a "well thought-out" crime.

Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited has announced that Sun Life Financial will increase its stake in the life insurance joint venture, Birla Sun Life Insurance from 26% to 49% at an investment of  Rs. 1,664 Crore, subject to the requisite approvals.

The Reserve Bank of India has notified that Non Resident Indians (NRIs) can invest up to 24% of the paid up capital of M/s TV Today Networks Ltd. under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS).