Indices snap 2-day losing streak...Nifty back above 8600

The key benchmark indices snapped a two-day losing streak on Monday. After opening on a flat note indices remained under pressure and slipped lower in the first half. However, as the day progressed, late bout of buying in the auto, capital goods, energy, metal, oil& gas, banking and finance stocks lifted the benchmarks. On the other hand, IT, realty, FMCG, teck and pharma stocks were under pressure.

Among the 50-stocks of Nifty, Zee, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, RIL, Hindalco, Tata MotorsDVR, L&T, ICICI Bank and Adani Ports were among the gainers on NSE, whereas HCL Tech, Wipro, Bharti Infratel, Tech Mahindra, Lupin, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints were among the losers today.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 120 points at 27,902. The BSE Sensex opened at 27,827 touched an intra-day high of 27,953 and low of 27,699.

The NSE Nifty closed with a gain of 35 points at 8,607. The NSE Nifty opened at 8,584 hitting a high of 8,622 and low of 8,544.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 2.98% at 13.1650. Out of 1,420 stocks traded on the NSE, 840 declined and 618 advanced today. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended up 0.2%-0.3%.

The rupee was trading down 11 paise at 67.16 per US dollar.

On the global front, Asian stocks closed on mixed note. The Shanghai Composite index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed marginally lower. Nikkei 225 gained 2.3%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 was trading up 0.31%. DAX and the CAC 40 were trading lower by 1% each.

Tata Motors soared 4.2% to Rs.525 on BSE. The company posted a net profit after tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates of Rs.2260.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.5254.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. Higher volumes in both standalone as well as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business was more than offset by the adverse foreign currency impact of Rs 2296 crore and adverse commodity derivatives impact of Rs 167 crore in the operating profit mainly in the Jaguar Land Rover business.

Indian Oil Corporation ended marginally down at Rs.572. The company posted a net profit of Rs.8269 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.6590.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care slipped 1%. The company reported an increase of 2.2% in its net profit at Rs 109.40 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Adani Enterprises closed higher by 1% at Rs.72.85 on the BSE after a federal court in Australia rejected challenge to its Carmichael mine.

Shree Renuka Sugars rallied 5.6% after creditors approved the reorganisation proposal put forward by its bankrupt Brazilian subsidiary, Renuka do Brasil S/A (RdB).

Pratibha Industries tumbled 4.8% to Rs.21.45 on the BSE. The company reported a consolidated net loss of Rs.30.15 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as compared to net profit of Rs.16.45 crore in the similar quarter of 2015-16.

Claris Lifesciences dropped 6.2%. The company received approval from the U.S. health regulator for generic Flumazenil injection used for reversal of the sedative effects of benzodiazepines in the America market.

GMR Infrastructure inched up 1.6% to Rs.13.30. GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited has won the competitive bid for development and operation of the Rs.3,000 crore Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa.

Alankit gained 2.6% to Rs.143.50 on BSE. Alankit Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company approved the increase in Authorised Share Capital of the Company from Rs. 10 crores to Rs. 20 crore and issue of Bonus Shares in the proportion of 1:1.1, said a media report.

A total of 55 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, whereas 17 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Live Stock Market Updates - Nifty reclaims 8,600 mark

The Indian stock market opened flat to positive but slipped into the negative zone in early trade on weak Asian cues.

At 2:35 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,904 up 122 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,601 up 28 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.14% at 13,018 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.10% at 12,499.

Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, RIL, L&T, Bharti Airtel and HDFC are among the gainers, whereas Wipro, TCS, Lupin, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in capital goods, industrial, auto, energy,metal,  oil and gas and consumer durables sectors, while telecom, IT, pharma, power, realty, banking, metal and teck sectors are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 1.71% at 13.3375. Out of 1,855 stocks traded on the NSE, 914 declined, 655 advanced and 286 remained unchanged today.

A total of 55 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 26 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The rupee opened lower by 12 paise at 67.14/$ against US Dollar Monday as against the previous close of 67.05/$.

DLF is trading marginally down ahead of Q1 numbers today.

Tata Motors soared 4.4% to Rs.525.75 on BSE. The company has posted a net profit after tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates of Rs.2260.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.5254.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Aurobindo Pharma is trading down 0.35%. The pharma company and Intas are among the contenders for the UK and Irish portfolio of Teva, as per media reports.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care slipped 2.4%. The company reported an increase of 2.2% in its net profit at Rs 109.40 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Coal India is trading down 0.93%. The company will invest around Rs.7,765 crore towards capital expenditure in the ongoing fiscal and Rs.5,069 crore in various projects, including railway infrastructure, super critical thermal power plant and solar power.

Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 16.95, up by Rs. 0.95 or 5.94% from its previous closing of Rs. 16 on the BSE. The company has informed BSE that under the Judicial Protection Law (11.101/2005 Recuperacao Judicial), the Assembly of Creditors of Renuka do Brasil S/A (RdB) has approved the Reorganization Plan presented by Renuka do Brasil S/A on August 26, 2016.

ACC Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1628.4, down by Rs. 10.05 or 0.61% from its previous closing of Rs. 1638.45 on the BSE. The cement major will is poised to increase its manufacturing capacity in India to 35 million tonnes per annum from 30 mtpa (beginning of the year) with the addition of a couple of more plants, as per media reports.

JSW Steel Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1759.55, up by Rs. 5.95 or 0.34% from its previous closing of Rs. 1753.6 on the BSE.The company has committed an investment of Rs.50,000 crore in Odisha for a 10-million-tonne steel project. 

Pratibha Industries Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 21.45, down by Rs. 1.1 or 4.88% from its previous closing of Rs. 22.55 on the BSE. The company has reported a consolidated net loss of Rs.30.15 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as compared to net profit of Rs.16.45 crore in the similar quarter of 2015-16.

Abbott India Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 4767.5, up by Rs. 36.05 or 0.76% from its previous closing of Rs. 4731.45 on the BSE. The pharma company will be in focus as it posted a 10% rise in standalone net profit to Rs.74.01 crore for quarter ended June 30 as compared to net profit of Rs.67.31 crore for the similar quarter last year.

Vakrangee gained 1.4%. The company PAT stood at Rs.120.5 crore in Q1FY2016-17 as against Rs.86.1 crore for the corresponding quarter last year, registering a growth of 40%.

Claris Lifesciences dropped 4%. The company has received approval from the U.S. health regulator for generic Flumazenil injection used for reversal of the sedative effects of benzodiazepines in the America market.

Reliance Communications inched up 0.37%. Reliance Communications and Aircel Ltd are expected to sign an agreement for merger of their businesses by the first week of September, as per media reports.

GMR Infrastructure climbed 3% to Rs.13.49. GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited has won the competitive bid for development and operation of the Rs.3,000 crore Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa.

Bharat Forge slipped 1% to Rs.853. The company has acquired 64,000 shares of its wholly owned step down UK subsidiary - Bharat Forge International (BFIL), from Bharat Forge Global Holding GMBH, for USD 4,544,000 (around Rs 30 crore).

Alankit jumped 4% to Rs.145.35 on BSE. Alankit Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company approved the increase in Authorised Share Capital of the Company from Rs. 10 crores to Rs. 20 crore and issue of Bonus Shares in the proportion of 1:1.1, said a media report.

The rupee opened lower by 12 paise at 67.14/$ against US Dollar Monday as against the previous close of 67.05/$.

Asian markets are trading mixed. Nikkei 225 is trading in green, while Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are trading lower.

Investors are still trying to make sense and understand the implications of US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech on Friday. At Jackson Hole, she said the case for a rate hike was strengthening thereby re-echoing the views of other Fed officials.

Meanwhile, Bank of Japan’s Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated that the Japanese central bank was ready to do all that is needed to prevent the Japanese economy from sliding further into deflation.

The Narendra-Modi government hopes to advance the Winter Session of Parliament to ensure that the GST is rolled out by April 1, 2017. Infosys will remain in focus after the management decided to split its business into smaller units.

Wall Street ended mostly lower on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the case for an increase in U.S. short-term interest rates has strengthened in recent months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53.01 points, or 0.3%, to 18,395.40. The S&P 500 lost 3.43 points, or 0.16%, to 2,169.04. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.71 points, or 0.13%, to 5,218.92.

The dollar is near a two-week high against the yen post fed commentary and crude prices declined.

India's foreign exchange reserves went up to $367.16 billion as on August 19. The foreign current assets stood at $341.67 billion, gold $21.58 billion, special drawing rights $1.49 billion and the reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stood at $2.41 billion.

On the economy front, Nirmala Sitharaman defended her demand for 2 per cent cut in interest rates by RBI, saying it is essential to boost SMEs and create jobs, amid criticism that such a move would drastically affect fixed deposits.

Top 17 stocks in focus today: Tata Motors, DLF, IOC

DLF: The company will announce its Q1 numbers today.

Tata Motors: The company has posted a net profit after tax, minority interest and share of profit of associates of Rs.2260.4 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.5254.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Aurobindo Pharma Ltd: The pharma company and Intas are among the contenders for the UK and Irish portfolio of Teva, as per media reports.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care: The company reported an increase of 2.2% in its net profit at Rs 109.40 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

IOC: IOC will announce Q1 numbers today.

Coal India: The company will invest around Rs.7,765 crore towards capital expenditure in the ongoing fiscal and Rs.5,069 crore in various projects, including railway infrastructure, super critical thermal power plant and solar power.

Abbott India: Drug firm Abbott India reported a 9.95% rise in standalone net profit to Rs.74.01 crore for quarter ended June 30.

Vakrangee: The company PAT stood at Rs.120.5 crore in Q1FY2016-17 as against Rs.86.1 crore for the corresponding quarter last year, registering a growth of 40%.

Claris Lifesciences: The company has received approval from the U.S. health regulator for generic Flumazenil injection used for reversal of the sedative effects of benzodiazepines in the America market.

Reliance Communications: Reliance Communications and Aircel Ltd are expected to sign an agreement for merger of their businesses by the first week of September, as per media reports.

L&T: The company has sharpened its focus on Southeast Asia and Africa to make up for the slowdown in West Asia, changing its overseas strategy amid likelihood of low crude oil prices continuing to weigh on investment plans of oil-rich nations.

Infosys: Infosys has borrowed a leaf from rival Tata Consultancy Services playbook by deciding to split its business into smaller units, which will be managed by the company's next rung of management, as per media reports.

GMR Infrastructure : GMR Airports Limited, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited has won the competitive bid for development and operation of the Rs.3,000 crore Mopa Greenfield Airport in North Goa. 

Bharat Forge: The company has acquired 64,000 shares of its wholly owned step down UK subsidiary - Bharat Forge International (BFIL), from Bharat Forge Global Holding GMBH, for USD 4,544,000 (around Rs 30 crore).

Alankit Ltd: Alankit Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company approved the increase in Authorised Share Capital of the Company from Rs. 10 crores to Rs. 20 crore and issue of Bonus Shares in the proportion of 1:1.1, said a media report.

Pratibha Industries: Pratibha Industries reported loss of Rs.30.1 crore for the quarter ended June 30 compared with Rs.16.4 crore loss reported in the year-ago period.

Carborundum Universal: CUMI, one of the leading players in the world in the area of Material Sciences and a part of the Murugappa Group, inaugurated its state-of-the-art Research and Development centre in its Industrial Ceramics Division facility in Hosur.

Live Stock Market Updates - Sensex, Nifty languish in red

The Indian stock market opened flat to positive but slipped into the negative zone in early trade on weak Asian cues.  At 9:33 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,827 down 18 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,569 down mere three points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.04% at 13,005 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.11% at 12,501.

Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, GAIL, RIL and ICICI Bank are among the gainers, whereas Adani Ports, Lupin, Wipro, TCS and Bajaj Auto are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in oil and gas, auto, industrial and energy sectors, while IT, pharma, capital goods, banking, metal and teck sectors are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is up 2.65% at 13.9300. Out of 1,831 stocks traded on the NSE, 731 declined, 658 advanced and 442 remained unchanged today.

A total of 24 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 16 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The rupee opened lower by 12 paise at 67.14/$ against US Dollar Monday as against the previous close of 67.05/$.

Asian markets are trading mixed. Nikkei 225 is trading in green, while Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are trading lower.

Investors are still trying to make sense and understand the implications of US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech on Friday. At Jackson Hole, she said the case for a rate hike was strengthening thereby re-echoing the views of other Fed officials.

Meanwhile, Bank of Japan’s Haruhiko Kuroda reiterated that the Japanese central bank was ready to do all that is needed to prevent the Japanese economy from sliding further into deflation.

The Narendra-Modi government hopes to advance the Winter Session of Parliament to ensure that the GST is rolled out by April 1, 2017. Infosys will remain in focus after the management decided to split its business into smaller units.

Wall Street ended mostly lower on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the case for an increase in U.S. short-term interest rates has strengthened in recent months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 53.01 points, or 0.3%, to 18,395.40. The S&P 500 lost 3.43 points, or 0.16%, to 2,169.04. The Nasdaq Composite rose 6.71 points, or 0.13%, to 5,218.92.

The dollar is near a two-week high against the yen post fed commentary and crude prices declined.

India's foreign exchange reserves went up to $367.16 billion as on August 19. The foreign current assets stood at $341.67 billion, gold $21.58 billion, special drawing rights $1.49 billion and the reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stood at $2.41 billion.

On the economy front, Nirmala Sitharaman defended her demand for 2 per cent cut in interest rates by RBI, saying it is essential to boost SMEs and create jobs, amid criticism that such a move would drastically affect fixed deposits.

Tata Motors Q1 net seen up 3%, JLR revenue may grow 5%: Poll.

Tata Motor is likely to see consolidated net profit at Rs 2856 crore in April-June quarter, up 3 percent from Rs 2769 crore in year-ago period. the auto major may see revenue growth of 5.6 percent at Rs 64400 crore from Rs 61019.5 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. During the quarter, its EBITDA may slip 0.8 percent at Rs 9037 crore versus Rs 9109 crore while operating profit margin may stand at 14 percent against 14.9 percent year-on-year.  

On a standalone basis, its net profit may slip to Rs 143 crore in Q1 from Rs 257.5 crore while revenue is likely to be at Rs 10004 crore against Rs 9296.9 crore in year-ago period. In Q1 EBITDA may stand at Rs 513 crore against Rs 346.1 crore and operating profit margin may come in at 5.1 percent versus 3.7 percent (YoY). 

Its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) may see net profit falling to 319 million pounds in Q1 against 492 million pounds as revenue is likely to grow 5 percent at 5260 million pounds versus 5002 million pounds in year-ago period.

 During the quarter, its EBITDA may stand at 746 million pounds against 821 million pounds and operating profit margin is seen at 14.2 percent from 16.4 percent (YoY).

Live Stock Market Updates - Sensex, Nifty languish in red; Banking, Capital Goods drag

The Indian equity market started off September series on a positive note, holding the 8,600 level on support from banks and Tata Group stocks.  At 10:19 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,826 down mere nine points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,591 down seven points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.48% at 13,040 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.48% at 12,562.

Tata Motors, RIL, Lupin, Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, NTPC and M&M are among the gainers, whereas Asian Paints, Coal India, Wipro, SBI, HDFC, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and L&T are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in pharma, FMCG, oil and gas, banking, auto and utilities sectors, while telecom sector is showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 3.55% at 12.8125. Out of 1,819 stocks traded on the NSE, 426 declined, 967 advanced and 426 remained unchanged today.

A total of 26 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while three stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

The rupee opened marginally higher by two paise at 67.02/$ against US Dollar Friday as against the previous close of 67.04/$.

Tata Motors rallied 2%. The auto company will announce its Q1 numbers today.

Shares of Welspun India were trading in a positive zone on Friday, erasing a 4-day losing streak on the stock exchange. On Thursday, the company issued a clarification sought by the BSE, in response to the accusations made by the US-based Target Corp. Welspun India Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 56.60, up by 4%.

DHFL gained 1.5%.  DHFL is planning to raise Rs.10,000 crore from non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to fund business growth. The NCD issue of face value of Rs.1,000 each with a base issue size of Rs.2,000 crore and an option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs.8,000 crore aggregating up to Rs.10,000 crore opens on 29 August.

Indian Oil Corporation gained 0.76% to Rs.575. The company will invest around Rs.650 crore in expanding its storage and bottling capacity in Tripura over the next three years as it looks to prevent fuel crisis in the state.

Union Bank of India trading lower 0.75% to Rs.133.20. Union Bank of India is planning to raise Rs.750 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant bonds.

Tata Communications gained 1.5% to Rs.509.80. The telecom company is planning to set up necessary storage infrastructure in countries of operations to win over the local business by addressing its concerns on overseas data storage.

Allcargo Logistics inched up 0.60% on BSE.  The company announced a consolidation of its contract logistics business into a new entity, Avvashya CCI Logistics Private Limited is a joint venture between three business entities: the warehousing division of CCI Logistics Ltd, Hindustan Cargo Ltd and the Contract Logistics Division of Allcargo Logistics.

Gammon Infra dropped 3.4% to Rs.5.15 on BSE.  The company reported Rs.5.9 crore for the quarter ended June 30 compared with Rs.6 crore reported in the year-ago period.

J Kumar Infraprojects hit 5% upper circuit at Rs.162. The company said Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRC) has issued LOA (letter of award) to J Kumar-CRTG's joint venture for Rs.5,012 crore projects.

Biocon soared 3.8% to Rs.899. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review Biocon and Mylan's Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for a proposed biosimilar Trastuzumab, used to treat certain breast and gastric cancers.

Spice Mobility climbed 4.7%. The telecom company informed BSE that Spice Digital Limited (SDL), a subsidiary of the Company, has divested its entire equity stake constituting 26% of share capital in Vavia Technologies Private Limited (Vavia) pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement entered into by them. Consequent to this, Vavia has ceased to be an associate of the Company.

Nalco slipped 0.53% to Rs.46.90: Nalco's Rs .2,835 crore offer to buyback 64.43 crore shares will open on August 30. The public sector undertaking today submitted the copy of public announcement and the letter of offer for the shareholders to the stock exchanges.

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.18%, to close at 18,448.41 points. The S&P 500 dropped 0.14% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.11%.

Oil prices were relatively flat during Asian trade on Friday. US crude traded at USD 47.34, similar to its last closing level, while global benchmark Brent was a touch lower, down 0.04 percent at USD 49.65 a barrel.

RBI has proposed a major overhaul in the way large companies borrow. In separate decisions, the central bank made it costlier for large companies to borrow more than a certain amount from banks even as it took steps to increase liquidity and participation in the corporate bond market.

Opening Bell - Nifty above 8,600 mark.

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,892 up 56 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,614 up 22 points.

The rupee opened marginally higher by two paise at 67.02/$ against US Dollar Friday as against the previous close of 67.04/$.

Asian markets opened lower on Friday. Nikkei 225 is trading in red, while Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are trading higher.

Investors world over will hope to hear some clear thoughts from US Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen at the Jackson Hole Symposium today. Yellen could use this opportunity to signal the direction of monetary policy as she speaks on “The Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Toolkit.” If the jobs data for August is strong, chances are a hike may happen.

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.18%, to close at 18,448.41 points. The S&P 500 dropped 0.14% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.11%.

Oil prices were relatively flat during Asian trade on Friday. US crude traded at USD 47.34, similar to its last closing level, while global benchmark Brent was a touch lower, down 0.04 percent at USD 49.65 a barrel.

RBI has proposed a major overhaul in the way large companies borrow. In separate decisions, the central bank made it costlier for large companies to borrow more than a certain amount from banks even as it took steps to increase liquidity and participation in the corporate bond market.

Nifty flat; HDFC, Reliance positive contributors to Sensex

The Sensex is down 89.85 points or 0.32 percent at 27970.09, and the Nifty down 18.15 points or 0.21 percent at 8632.15.

About 1241 shares have advanced, 1316 shares declined, and 175 shares are unchanged. 

The market is absolutely flat with Sensex is up 11.44 points at 28071.38, and the Nifty is 8.65 points at 8658.95. About 1283 shares have advanced, 1238 shares declined, and 191 shares are unchanged. ITC, BHEL, Cipla, Axis Bank and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gainers while Adani Ports, Wipro, Infosys, NTPC and Tata Steel are top losers in the Sensex.

Even as many analysts believe that the Indian markets are among the most attractive in the world, thanks to the country's strong growth potential, Sanjay Mookim, India Equity Strategist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, is more circumspect.

 In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Mookim said the share rally recently seen was mostly driven by liquidity sloshing around globally and that with valuations becoming pricey, investors should adopt a more cautious tone.

 "We haven't distinguished ourselves by way of earnings," he said, even as he expects profits to rise about 15 percent this fiscal. The brokerage has a Sensex target of 26,000, predicated on a price-to-earnings multiple of 15.5 times.

Nifty holds 8650; IT stocks weak, FMCG & pharma stocks up

While there are 10 more days to go before Urjit Patel is passed on the baton at Reserve Bank of India by Raghuram Rajan, the government is building a case in favour of a rate cut arguing the cost of credit in the country is very high. 

At an event a few days ago, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Nitin Gadkari said cost of funding was very high in India and that he hoped for a 2 percent rate from the Reserve Bank, a call that was re-iterated today by Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Leading economists, however, believe this is just wishful thinking as the Ministry of Finance and RBI have already agreed on an inflation target and unless inflation comes off, there is no room for a rate cut.

The market is still sluggish as the Sensex is up 68.99 points or 0.2 percent at 28128.93. The Nifty is up 23.90 points or 0.3 percent at 8674.20. About 1384 shares have advanced, 816 shares declined, and 156 shares are unchanged. 

ITC, Cipla, Axis Bank, BHEL and Dr Reddy's Labs are gainers in the Sensex while Adani Ports, Wipro, Infosys, TCS and NTPC are losers in the Sensex. 

Crude prices dipped on Thursday as brimming US and Asian fuel inventories returned investor attention to a large global supply overhang, cutting short a price-rally and restricting Brent crude futures to below the USD 50 a barrel mark. 

Traders said price falls this week had truncated a rally that pushed crude up by more than 20 percent earlier in August on talk of a potential deal by oil producers to freeze output in an effort to rein in oversupply.

 Hopes of a deal were dampened by record output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and little prospect of voluntary restrictions.

Opening Bell - Nifty above 8650 mark

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,104 up 44 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,669 up 19 points.

Asian markets are trading mixed. Nikkei 225 is trading in red, while Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are trading lower. Market-wide rollovers to the September F&O series were above average while rollovers for Nifty futures so far have been much higher than the past three series. Bank Nifty rolls have been lower so far and some action is anticipated here. Few global developments like North Korea testing another missile and Turkey launching attacks on Syria have once again brought in the tension factor. The only thought now on investors’ minds seems to be about what the Fed is likely to do in September. Yellen’s speech at Jackson Hole tomorrow may provide some clues.

Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.35% lower, at 18,481.48. The S&P 500 fell 0.52% and the Nasdaq dropped 0.81%, to 5,217.69.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved nine projects worth about Rs.24,000 crore in nine states for expansion of railway network and connectivity across the country. The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved a revised India-Cyprus tax treaty that seeks to plug loopholes used by investors to avoid paying taxes in India.

BSNL announced a national unlimited 3G mobile data plan for Rs.1,099 and doubled the data usage limit in some existing plans.

The rupee opened marginally higher by two paise at 67.08/$ against US Dollar Thursday as against the previous close of 67.10/$. In currency markets, traders will remain on the sidelines ahead of Yellen’s speech. Amid the slew of hawkish remarks from various Fed officials, it has become imperative for the investors to hear from horse’s mouth.