Nifty flat despite Oct IIP growth of 8.2%, Re at 54.15/$

Equity benchmarks made feeble attempt to move upward led by auto stocks, but stayed largely flat even as industrial output for the month of October numbers surprised on the upside. October IIP expanded at robust 8.2% versus an expectation of 4.5%, which is a distinctive improvement. At 11.06 am, the Sensex was up 60.89 points or 0.31% at 19448.03, and the Nifty was up 17.70 points or 0.30% at 5916.50. Rupee appreciated significantly to touch 54.15 to a dollar.

Top Sensex gainers were Mahindra and Mahindra (up 2/27%), Hero Motocorp (1.64%), Sun Pharma (1.39%), BHEL (1.29%) and Bajaj Auto (1.27%). Banking stocks like HDFC Bank, SBI and  ICICI Bank remained in focus, gaining between 0.45% and 0.6%, as Parliament takes up  Banking Laws Amendment Bill for discussion. Real action, however, was seen in broader markets with midcap stocks trading with big gains and big volumes.

Rest of Asia appears strong with Hang Seng and Australia trading at 16-month highs.  Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce a fresh round of bond buying on Wednesday as part of its efforts to support a fragile economic recovery.