Sensex, Nifty sink by 1%, Auto and Bank worst hit

The Benchmark indices Sensex, Nifty ended the day in red, and touched day's low. Both indices dropped by 1%. Automobile, bank and cement stocks were the worst hit segments. The key trigger was the GST, wherein the committee were unable to reach a consensus on the roll out. There is a possibility that government might fail to meet its April 1, 2017 deadline. In addition, weak Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, which was released last Friday, stated the overall industrial output has reduced by 1.9% yoy in October.

Another factor is the US Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy which is due this week. The meeting is to be held on December 13-14. Industry is expecting that the US Fed will raise rates. The expectation is that the hike will be around 25 bps.

The major Asian indices ended on mixed note where expect for Nikkei other key indices closed on weaker note. Following the OPEC and non-OPEC meeting, the outcome of the meet has resulted in increase of oil prices. The prices touched its peak after nearly two years. Chinese share indices fell nearly 5% on reports that the government had imposed curbs on stock trading by insurance companies. Furthermore, European indices were weighed down by the weakness in share markets in China and Hong Kong due to the new developments in China.

The BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 230 points at 26515. The benchmark indices opened at 26725.31, touched an intra-day high of 26725.31 and low of 26468.59.

The NSE Nifty gained 91 points and closed at 8,170. It opened at 8,230.65 points, hitting a high of 8,230.65 and low of 8,154.45.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 6.98% at 16.1200. The BSE Midcap closed at 12395.65 and Smallcap indices closed at 12230.63, both indices ended losing close to 1%.

Out of 1401 stocks traded on the NSE, 909 declined and 427 advanced today.

A total of 33 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, whereas 16 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

At the close of day, ONGC, NTPC, TCS, Sun Pharma, Bosch, L&T were the top gainers while Ambuja Cement, BPCL, Eicher Motors, Ultratech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ACC were among the losers on NSE.

Gold was trading at Rs 27,576 per 10 gms and silver was trading at Rs 41,221 per kg. Gold falls to 10-month lows, the primary reason for the downfall is the nearing US Federal Reserve Monetary Policy announcement that will be out following the meeting on the December 13-14. The industry is expecting a rate hike.

On the global front, most Asian indices closed in red, while Japan's Nikkei 225 ended marginally up and in green. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was down 0.20%. CAC 40 was down 0.11% and DAX was down 0.32% while, the US Nasdaq was also up 0.50%.

Noteworthy Stocks: 

State Bank of India sold 3.9% stake in its life insurance venture SBI Life to private equity firms KKR and Temasek. The deal values SBI Life at Rs 460 bn.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp is awaiting nod of upstream regulator DGH to commence investing USD5.07bn in bringing to production oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-D5.

Natco Pharma launches Tamiflu oral capsules in US market; stock up 0.5%.

JSW Energy in talks to buy Monnet Power's Odisha plant, stock up 1.19%

NMDC shares up 1.94% as Q2 net profits were above estimates.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has hiked its stake in Bata India by 2.03%, taking its total shareholding to 7.05% in the company.

Bajaj Finance Limited stocks down 5.75% is primarily the ensuing impact of demonetisation.

Nifty loses 98 points, Sensex drops 250 points- the fall continues

The benchmark indices continue to drop with auto and banking stocks leading the pack. The India Vix went up by 7%. Nifty sectoral indices are trading in red and Auto, Bank, and Media dropped by over 1.5%.

The European market kicked off on a mixed note. Industry eagerly awaits another rate decision from the US Federal Reserve Monetary Policy announcement will be made this week. Post the OPEC development, where OPEC and non-OPEC members over the weekend reached their first deal since 2001 to jointly reduce output in order to control the supply and boost the market. Following this, the oil prices shot up by 5% to their highest level since 2015.

As the downtrend continues, another trigger is the GST, wherein the committee were unable to reach a consensus on the roll out. There is a possibility that government might fail to meet its April 1, 2017 deadline. In addition, weak INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DATA which was released last Friday, stated the overall industrial output has reduced by 1.9% yoy in October. Another factor is the US Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy which is due this week. The meeting is to be held on December 13-14. Industry is expecting that the US Fed will raise rates with the hike estimated to be around 25 bps

At 02:43 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26485 down 261 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,163 down 98 points. A total of 33 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 14 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Out of 1892 stocks traded on the NSE, 1060 declined, 512 advanced and 320 remained unchanged today.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 1.34% at 12366.79, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.81% at 12220.23.

Auto, Bank, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas are showing weakness on BSE.

ONGC, NTPC, Sun Pharma, LT, TCS, PowerGrid, Reliance are among the gainers, whereas BPCL, Ultratech Cement, Asian Paint, Eicher Motors, Tata Motor DVR, Bajaj Auto are losing sheen on NSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 7.49% at 16.1975.

Nifty, Sensex under pressure, IT and Auto stocks down

Downtrend on Monday morning continues with auto and banking stocks continuing to lose sheen. The India Vix went up by 5%. Nifty Auto, FMCG, and Private Banks dropped by more than 1%. IT and Auto stocks are both trading lower today.

Trump's speech where he emphasised his anti-immigrant policies have played a hand in IT stocks losing sheen, while, auto companies are witnessing a drop primarily because the industry is expecting a drop in demand in the near future. 

One key trigger is the GST meeting's inconclusiveness in reaching a consensus on the roll out. There is a possibility that the government might fail to meet its April 1, 2017 deadline.

In addition, weak Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, which was released last Friday, stated the overall industrial output has reduced by 1.9% yoy in October. Another factor is the US Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy which is due this week. The meeting is to be held on December 13-14. Industry is expecting that the US Fed will raise rates with the hike estimated to be around 25 bps.

At 11:50 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26619 down 127 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,209 down 52 points. A total of 29 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 14 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Out of 1891 stocks traded on the NSE, 876 declined, 658 advanced and 357 remained unchanged today.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.65% at 12453.92, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.28% at 12286.10.

In the morning hours of trading Auto, Bank, Information Technology, FMCG, Oil & Gas are showing weakness on BSE, while some buying is observed in Metal, Energy and Utilities sectors.

NTPC, ONGC, Reliance, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Lupin are among the gainers, whereas Grasim, Asian Paints, BPCL, Ambuja Cement, Bajaj Auto are losing sheen on NSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 5.25% at 15.8600.

Titagarh Wagons Ltd shares up 4.82%, acquires order for construction of fuel barges for the Indian Navy.

Natco Pharma launches Tamiflu oral capsules in US market; stock up 0.5%.

Om Metals Infraprojects Ltd stocks up 6.02%, receives LOA from FCI for four locations.

JSW Energy in talks to buy Monnet Power's Odisha plant, stock up 1.19%

Bata India stocks up 1.1%, LIC intends to increase stake in the company.

NMDC shares up 1.5% as Q2 net profits were above estimates.

IRB Infra shares up 2.2% as the company bags 90 km highway development project in Rajasthan.

MIC Electronics Ltd has received a letter of award for supply of 20,000 standalone off-grid solar LED street lights with a contract price of Rs 329 mn.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has launched the CNG variant of its popular mini-truck Jeeto, priced at Rs 0.35 mn (ex-showroom, Delhi). The CNG variant will be available at the top-end model of Jeeto X716.

State Bank of India sold 3.9% stake in its life insurance venture SBI Life to private equity firms KKR and Temasek. The deal values SBI Life at Rs 460 bn.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp is awaiting nod of upstream regulator DGH to commence investing USD5.07bn in bringing to production oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-D5.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has hiked its stake in Bata India by 2.03%, taking its total shareholding to 7.05% in the company.

Indian benchmark indices open in red.

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26,619, down by 126 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,219 down by 42 points.

Over the weekend, OPEC once again managed a pleasant surprise for itself as non-members too agreed to cut output and reduce oversupply. This deal, struck for the first time in the last 15 years, led to oil prices flaring to the highest level in two years.

It was a healthy week for Indian equity market that saw the top 10 firms adding over Rs 56,000 crore to their market-cap. TCS was the lone loser in the top league. Foreign investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 140 crore in the equity market in December but the selling in debt market continues as they pulled out over Rs 17,000 crore in this segment.

On the macro front, India’s industrial output contracted by 1.9% (yoy) during October. The retail inflation (CPI) numbers are scheduled later today. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation by April 1 remains a worry as the GST council was unable to reach an agreement to clear the draft law on Sunday.

Gold prices tumbled to ten month low of US $ 1,157/oz at one point of time, with values registering fifth weekly consecutive decline. Strong US dollar and jitters regarding a Fed rate hike next week continues to take a toll on the precious pack. Although 25 bps rate hike is already discounted by the markets, investors will be more interested in language of the policy statement. Market participants will try to gauge what Fed intends to do during the course of next 12 months and what is the probability of subsequent rate hikes.

Nifty opens above 8250, Sensex rises; Adani, Hero, Maruti gain

The market has opened firm as the Sensex is up 105.86 points or 0.4 percent at 26800.14. The Nifty is up 24.85 points or 0.3 percent at 8271.70. 

About 223 shares have advanced, 41 shares declined, and 9 shares are unchanged. Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and Coal India while Dr Reddy's Labs and Wipro are losers in the Sensex. 

The Indian rupee has opened lower by 14 paise at 67.49 per dollar on Friday versus previous close 67.35. The euro dropped over 1 percent overnight after the European Central Bank extended asset purchases until the end of next year and President Mario Draghi said cuts to the size of the program should not be viewed as tapering. The dollar index gained. 

Asian shares flatlined but were on track for robust weekly gains, while the euro caught its breath after sliding when the European Central Bank trimmed the size of its asset purchase program and also extended it for longer than many had expected. 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan wobbled close to the previous session's close in early trading, poised for a weekly gain of 2.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock index was up 0.6 percent, up 2.4 percent for the week in which the dollar gained 0.6 percent against the yen. Major US stock indexes climbed again on Thursday and set fresh record highs as a month-long rally following the presidential election of Donald Trump rolled on. Investors have driven up equities since Trump's November 8 election over optimism about domestic economic stimulus and reduced corporate taxes and regulations. 

Among asset classes, crude prices gain 2 percent overnight as market watchers focused on today's meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers that may result in an agreement to cut crude output further. Gold prices slip as US dollar strengthened. 

Nifty ends above 8200, Sensex gains 457 points

Share indices ended at their highest level in four weeks, buoyed by positive cues from global markets and weak dollar. Most indices in the Asian region also ended higher. Today's rise was also aided by expectation that the ECB will announce a six-month extension to its bond-buying program.

Japan's main stock benchmark rose to a new high for 2016 after continued optimism surrounding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's economic policies helped lift Wall Street shares to a record high overnight. The Nikkei 268.78 points to 18765.47, its highest level since December 30, 2015.

Globally, eyes are on the European Central Bank, where industry hopes that the committee will extend its asset purchase program at its policy meet. Industry is expectant that the ECB will continue its monthly asset purchases and hope it extends forward to March 2017.

The market received the required impetus following the buying ensued by FIIs and DIIs. Buying activity was observed in the market throughout the day, which help the benchmark indices to have a bull run and close on a strong positive note.

Cashless beneficiary sectors like IT stocks including Nucleus Software, Quick Heal, HCL, Infosys had a positive uptrend throughout the day gaining above 4%. Following stocks were the performers of the day - Reliance, ONGC, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Tata Motor DVR, Tata Motor, Mothersun Sumi, Bharat Forge, Hindustan Zinc, Godrej Properties, Indianbulls Real Estate, PowerFinance Corporation, LIC, ITC.

All sectoral indices on Nifty were trading up with Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal stocks leading the pack. In general, auto stocks were top gainers on NSE.

The BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 457 points at 26,694. The benchmark indices opened at 26366.52, touched an intra-day high of 26733.87 and low of 26357.35.

The NSE Nifty gained 144 points and closed at 8,246. It opened at 8,168.40 points, hitting a high of 8,190.45 and low of 8,077.50.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 7.83% at 15.5250. The BSE Midcap closed at 12508.34 and Smallcap indices closed at 12256.25, both indices gained 1.49% and 1.28% respectively.

Out of 1528 stocks traded on the NSE, 299 declined and 1178 advanced today.

A total of 22 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, whereas 9 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

At the close of day, Tata Steel, Tata Motor DVR, Tata Motor, Adani Ports, Bajaj Auto, ITC, Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers while Bharti Infratel, Eicher Motors, Aurobindo Pharma, NTPC were among the losers on NSE. The mentioned were the only four stocks that ended in red today.

The rupee was trading at 67.32 per US dollar. Gold was trading at Rs 27,846 per 10 gms and silver was trading at Rs 41,627 per kg. The Rupee was trading at its highest level since November 11, 2016 and this was the third consecutive day of rise for the domestic currency. Rupee gained over 1% in 3 sessions. Further, Rupee is trading up over 2% post touching the record low of 68.86 on November 24, 2016.

On the global front, most Asian indices closed in green except Strait Times that ended in red and marginally down. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 0.07%. CAC 40 and DAX was up 0.19% and 0.41% respectively while, the US Nasdaq was also up 1.13%.

Sensex rallies over 400 points, Nifty continues upward trend

Sensex and Nifty bull run continues, supporting this are the upwards run by associated indices. All sectoral indices on Nifty were trading wherein Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal were leading the pack. In general, auto stocks were top gainers on NSE in the afternoon.

Japan's main stock benchmark rose to a new high for 2016 after continued optimism surrounding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's economic policies helped lift Wall Street shares to a record high overnight. The Nikkei 268.78 points to 18765.47, its highest level since December 30, 2015.

Globally, eyes are on the European Central Bank, where industry hopes that the committe will extend its asset purchase program at its policy meet. Industry is expectant the ECB to continue its monthly asset purchases and hope it extended forward March 2017.

At 2:30 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26357 up 466 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,243 up 141 points. A total of 20 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 9 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Out of 1,883 stocks traded on the NSE, 309 declined, 1279 advanced and 295 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 1.35% at 12490.89, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 1.20% at 12247.33.

Buying activity is seen in Auto, Bank, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Metal, FMCG, Information Technology, Healthcare while Telecom was showing slight weakness on BSE.

Tata Steel, Tata Motor DVR, Tata Motors, Bosch, Ambuja Cement, Hindalco, ITC, Adani Ports, Maruti are among the gainers, whereas Infratel, NTPC, Aurobindo Pharma, Eicher Motors are losing sheen on NSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 8.35% at 15.4375.

The Rupee is trading at its highest level since November 11, 2016 and this was the third consecutive day of rise for the domestic currency. Rupee gained over 1% in 3 sessions. Further, Rupee is trading up over 2% post touching the record low of 68.86 on November 24, 2016.

Sensex gains 196 points, Nifty opens in green

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26,433 up 196 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,152 up 50 points.

Asian markets opened sharply higher after overnight the US markets climbed 300 points with Europe also closing with large gains. This even as US$ saw profit booking, bond yields fell & oil traded lower after the sharp OPEC cut rally. The US markets are leading from the front with expectation of huge capex expansion & spending which is setting a bullish fervor globally.

Most Asian indices were trading higher today, in-line with the gains in US markets, amid speculation that the European Central Bank will extend its asset purchase program at its policy meet, later today. 
  
Industry is hoping that the ECB monthly asset purchases will continue and will be prolonged beyond this fiscal. Another factor which has been expected and accounted by the markets is the rate hike by the US. Japan opened at 18646, Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened at 22997, Taiwan's Straits Times started at 2967, and China's Shanghai Composite started at 3222. All Asian indices were trading in green at 8:30 am

On the other hand, US markets closed on higher side. The rally was led by dividend-yielding transportation, real estate and telecom shares. While, on the loosing end were the biotechnology and pharma stocks. Here also, the traders are looking forward to the announcements by ECB Monetary Policy makers. Nasdaq Composite closed at 5393, Dow Industrial Avereage ended at 19549, while S&P 500 closed at 2241, wherein all the mentioned indices gained more than 1% at the end of the day.

The monetary policy committee (MPC) maintained status quo on interest rates advocating caution in light of heightened uncertainty emanating both from potential US Fed rate hike and the demonetization move in India. The central bank has maintained its accommodative stance and will gauge the repercussions of the various transitory developments and then accordingly take a call on the rate trajectory. Improving macroeconomic profile and contained inflation paves the path for further moderation in the interest rates. RBI withdrew the 100 pc CRR requirement with effect from the fortnight beginning December 10 and this could give some boost to the banks. The outlook is a positive start. The US markets soared to new highs and Asian markets have joined the party. Attention would be on the European Central Bank today, which may announce an extension to its quantitative easing programme.

RBI Monetary Policy Review:
After the recent surge in bank deposits on account of demonetisation move and moderation in food inflation, it was widely expected that RBI may deliver yet another cut. Conversely, the monetary policy committee (MPC) unanimously decided to stand pat on interest rates given that a rate cut was front loaded in October. The central bank advocated caution in light of heightened uncertainty emanating both from potential US Fed rate hike and currency replacement in India. 

On rate outlook, RBI will further delve into the flow of macroeconomic indicators and events before making any move on the policy rates. Although the central bank has persisted with its accommodative stance, it will remain circumspect in regard with risks emanating from a prospective hawkish US Fed policy, intensifying volatility in global financial markets and ensuing weaker Indian rupee. The monetary policy committee will gauge the repercussions of the various transitory developments and then accordingly take a call on the rate trajectory. Nevertheless, amid the warranted prudence of RBI, we still sense a possibility of a 25bps rate cut before the end of this fiscal year. Improving macroeconomic profile and contained inflation paves the path for further moderation in the interest rates.

Stocks in focus:

Suven Life Sciences has been granted a patent in India for a drug used for the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases.

PVR has partnered with South Korea’s CJ 4DPLEX to add another 10 4DX screens to its network in major cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai.

The capacity of Coromandel International Ltd's fertiliser unit is being expanded from 700tpd to a 1,000tpd and the public hearing for the purpose is being held on the factory premises at Sriharipuram.

State Bank of Travancore (SBT) said it will raise up to Rs 6 bn through issuance of Basel-III-compliant additional tier-I bonds on private placement basis.

Sun Pharmaceutical said the US health regulator has informed the company of more concerns found at its Halol manufacturing plant after a recent inspection.

Ashoka Buildcon, through its power division, has won rural electrification projects worth Rs9.50bn in Bihar.

NTPC has struck coal at its first coal mine. 

Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corp signed a pact to build India's biggest oil refinery at a cost of USD30bn on the west coast.

The government has initiated a probe into Reliance Industries and Oil and Natural Gas Corp having knowledge as early as in 2003 of state-owned firm's natural gas flowing into adjoining fields of RIL in KG Basin. 

CERC has passed an order and granted relief measures to Tata Power in compensatory tariff case for force majeure event. 

Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) executed the share purchase agreement (SPA) with Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra) for 100% acquisition of the latter's Western Region System Strengthening Scheme's (WRSSS) transmission assets.

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued form 483 with five observations against Divi's Laboratories' unit at Chippada Village in Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh following an inspection, which concluded on December 6.

Laurus Labs Ltd. IPO subscribed 0.61 times on Day 2; QIB Portion Fully Subscribed.

Hindustan Zinc enters solar energy biz, to invest Rs 630 crore.

BPCL, IOC sign consortium agreement to set up West Coast Refinery and Petrochemical project.

Sensex drops 156 points, Nifty barely holds above 8100 as RBI leaves repo rates unchanged.

Sensex and Nifty erased gains as RBI Monetary Policy Committee left the repo rate unchanged at 6.25%. Industry was expecting at least 25 basis point cut.

Although Nifty dropped below 8100 points, Nifty was gaining back some confidence. Sensex also gained back after a dip.

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting today, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25%.

MPC stated all the key rates remain unchanged. This includes Bank Rate which remains at 6.75%, Repo Rate remains 6.25%, Reverse Repo Rate remains 5.75%, CRR remains 4.00% and SLR remains 20.75%. 

The announcement of the RBI Monetary Policy wherein the committee decided to keep the repo rate unchanged, has impacted price sensitive sectors including Auto and Realty.

RBI Withdraws the Incremental CRR
On November 26, 2016 the Reserve Bank had announced an incremental cash reserve ratio (CRR) of 100 per cent of the increase in net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) of scheduled banks between September 16, 2016 and November 11, 2016, effective the fortnight beginning November 26, 2016. It was intended to absorb a part of the large increase in liquidity in the system following the withdrawal of the legal tender status of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination bank notes. It was also indicated that the incremental CRR was purely a temporary measure and that it would be reviewed on December 9, 2016 or even earlier.

With the enhancement in the ceiling for issue of securities under the Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS) to Rs 6,000 billion, it has been decided to withdraw the incremental CRR effective the fortnight beginning December 10, 2016. The liquidity released by the discontinuation of the incremental CRR would be absorbed by a mix of MSS issuances and liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) operations.

Nifty Bank index witnessed a downtrend primarily due to the RBI announcement of withdrawal of incremental Cash Reserve Ratio imposed on bank's deposits in late November to be withdrawn from December 10. Kotak Bank, Federal Bank, IndusInd bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Canara Bank were all trading in red, while Yes Bank was the only bank trading in green on Nifty bank index.

The BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 156 points at 26237. The benchmark indices opened at 26456.21, touched an intra-day high of 26540.83 and low of 26164.82.

The NSE Nifty dropped 41 points and closed at 8,102. It opened at 8,168.40 points, hitting a high of 8,190.45 and low of 8,077.50.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 1.52% at 16.8450. The BSE Midcap closed at 12324.54 and Smallcap indices closed at 12101.77, both indices ending marginally down.

Out of 1884 stocks traded on the NSE, 961 declined and 636 advanced today.

A total of 17 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, whereas 9 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

At the close of day, Eicher Motors, BPCL, Adani Ports, Idea, HDFC were the top gainers while Sun pharma, Bank of Baroda, Axis bank, Bosch, Bajaj Auto, Lupin were among the losers on NSE.

The rupee was trading at 67.86 per US dollar. Gold was trading at Rs 27,934 per 10 gms and silver was trading at Rs 41,163 per kg.

On the global front, most Asian indices closed in green and marginally up. In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 1.25%. CAC 40 and DAX was up 0.90% and 1.33% respectively while, the US Nasdaq was also up 0.45%.

European indices open on a positive note ahead of the ECB policy primarily as traders expected the central bank to extend the duration of its bond-buying programme. The ECB will commence its two-day policy meeting on Thursday, with the policy statement to be detailed on Friday. As expected, banks led the rally in European shares, as investors expected them to benefit from any extension of the ECB's bond-buying plan.

Nifty trading above 8150, Idea, Eicher up

Domestic markets opened on a positive note ahead of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee's policy statement. The MPC will reveal the details today at 2:30 pm. The market is hopeful that there will be an interest cut of 25 basis points. 

At 12:20 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26432.42 up 40 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,162.85 up 19 points. A total of 15 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 7 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Out of 1,880 stocks traded on the NSE, 576 declined, 952 advanced and 352 remained unchanged today.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.33% at 12384.53, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.29% at 12199.62.

Some buying activity is seen in Auto, Oil & Gas, Bank while Healthcare, Information Technology, Capital Goods, FMCG, Telecommunications are showing weakness on BSE.

Eicher Motors, BPCL, Adani Ports, HDFC, Yes Bank, Idea, Ultra Cement are among the gainers, whereas SSun Pharma, Zee Entertainment, TCS, Lupin, Tata Steel are losing sheen on NSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 2.30% at 16.7100.

Eicher Motors stocks up 2.52% based on expectations of rate cut by 50 bps

VST Tillers up 5% after company reported a 34.2% month-on-month increase in sales of power tillers to 1,495 units in November.

Pennar Engineered shares rose 3% after it announced the formation of its subsidiary PEBS Pennar in the US.

Sun Pharma down 4% as Halol unit gets US FDA notice.