Nifty above 8000 ahead of GDP data, Sensex flat; GAIL up 2%

Moneycontrol Bureau11:50 am GDP expecations: Services will be the key driver of GDP (gross domestic product) growth for the quarter ended June, while agriculture and manufacturing will continue to disappoint, says Sonal Varma of Nomura. "Services is basically going to be the star performer and particularly the two sections one the trade transportation segment, our view is there has been a good pick up because of some of the real activity indicators like medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales or airline passenger freight or even cargo traffic actually have been good," she says.11:30 am Market outlook: While the near-term continues to look challenging for equity markets, long-term earnings can grow by 12-15 percent, says Hiren Ved, Director and CIO, Alchemy Capital Management. According to him, at the moment good macros are not translating into good micros. He adds that the market may correct further from current levels. But the good thing about corrections this time around is the fact that market participants did not panic. "Average market correction has been around 20 percent going by historical data," he told CNBC-TV18.Don't miss: 7500 or 8500? 5 things that may keep market jittery in Sept

The market is flat as the Sensex is up 15.84 points at 26408.22. The Nifty is up 8.10 points at 8010.05. About 1101 shares have advanced, 961 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Lupin, Cipla, Sun Pharma and Axis Bank are top gainers while Bharti Airtel, BHEL, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto are among losers in the Sensex.India's first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be released in the evening. It is expected to come in at 7.5 percent versus 6.7 percent in the year-ago period. But economists these days look at the GVA, that is the gross value added, which is expected to fall to 6.7 percent from around 7.4 percent in the first quarter of the previous year.

Oil prices fell in Asia today, coming under pressure as dealers took profits from huge gains in the previous session and tried to gauge the outlook for the US economy and its taste for crude. Oil has been on a roller-coaster ride in recent weeks over fears of a harder-than-expected slowdown in China, the world's top energy importer, at a time when world markets are awash with supplies.