Nifty gains but still below 8600, Sensex firm; Bharti, TCS down

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am Poll: The Reserve Bank of India is expected to take advantage of expectations that inflation will remain low in the near-term and cut interest rates again early next year with an aim to boost already-solid growth a little bit more, a Reuters poll found.

New RBI Governor Urjit Patel and his six-member Monetary Policy Committee used the same rationale for their surprise 25 basis point (bps) cut to 6.25 percent earlier this month, the lowest since November 2010.

Inflation cooled to a 13-month low of 4.31 percent in September and the latest Reuters poll of economists expect it to average 4.8 percent in the January-March quarter of 2017, just under the RBI's near-term target.

11:30 am Market outlook: Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE said that Sensex carries a great importance for the Indian economy. “The story of Sensex is ingrained in our memory,” he said, adding that the BSE is the cathedral to capitalism. Sensex will be compounding at a rate of 15-16 percent as it has been doing so far.

He is positive about equities as he thinks the underlying strength is enormous. “You need to differentiate between risk and volatility. You see volatility, not risk here.”

The US election is a key event. It is a horse race, and a lot of things can happen, feels Damani. But if Donald Trump beats the odds and comes to power, then markets will react badly, beginning with the collapse in Mexican peso. If Hillary Clinton wins the polls, then it will be status quo.

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The market continues to see good buying but the Nifty has not been able to touch 8600 yet. The 50-share index is up 61.95 points or 0.7 percent at 8582.35 and the Sensex is up 210.59 points or 0.8 percent at 27740.56.

Tata Steel, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Reliance and Adani Ports are top gainers while Asian Paints, ONGC, Bharti and TCS are losers in the Sensex.

Gold prices were higher by Rs 58 to Rs 29,859 per 10 gram in futures trade as speculatorswidened their bets taking positive cues from the global market.

At Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery inFebruary2017 contracts was up by Rs 58 or 0.19 percent to Rs 29,859 per 10 gram in business turnover of one lot.

Analysts said widening of positions by participants following a better trend in global market as US manufacturing data failed to lend clear support for higher interest rates in the world's biggest economy, weakening dollar and rising demand for the precious metal as safe-haven supported the upside in gold futures here.