Nifty holds 8450 in Aug series, Sensex firm; Reliance weak

Moneycontrol Bureau10:50 am Market outlook: Indian equity market is on a structural upswing that will be further aided by an impending cyclical recovery in economy, says Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund. He lists three main reasons for his optimism — improvement in earnings (best to come in the last quarter), higher salary structure of government employees and monsoon outdoing bad-rain forecast. Talking to CNBC-TV18, Shah is confident that a "retail tsunami," is approching Indian market and advised investors to stick to quality names despite their costs.10:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Software company Vakrangee rose more than 7 percent intraday Friday on the back of announcement of strategic tie up with Amazon India for its Kendra business."The company has entered into a strategic tie up with Amazon India in its constant endeavor to connect India’s "unserved and underserved citizens to modern ecosystems". Vakrangee will provide marketing, promotional and pick-up services to Amazon through the Vakrangee Kendras, as per BSE filling.Don't miss: Tight monetary policy, NPL woes hurt investment cycle, says CLSA

The market looks happy and bright beginning August F&O series on a positive note. The Nifty up is 42.65 points or 0.5 percent at 8464.45 while the Sensex is up 193.34 points or 0.7 percent at 27898.69. About 1266 shares have advanced, 597 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Hero Motocrop, Coal India, Vedanta and M&M are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Reliance, L&T and Sun Pharma.

Gold slipped to near 5-5.5 year lows and was on course for a sixth straight weekly fall, its longest retreat since 1999, after upbeat US economic data strengthened expectations for a near-term hike in interest rates.

Bullion was also set to end July with its biggest monthly decline in more than two years after a deep rout last week further shook investor confidence, with more losses seen ahead.

The July 20 selloff saw gold trip more than 3 percent, encouraging more investors since then to trim their holdings that pulled the global spot benchmark to USD 1,077 days later, its lowest since February 2010.