Nifty struggles to hold 8150; banks, FMCG laggards

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am Interview: KEC International's margins improved significantly in the second quarter, says Rajeev Aggarwal, CFO, of the company. It has reported the highest margin 14 quarters. However, the company's revenue is down 7 percent. Aggarwal says this is because of lower commodity prices and currency depreciation in Brazil. the forex situation in Brazil has impacted 55-56 percent revenues, he told CNBC-TV18. Also, the company has passed the impact of lower commodity prices to the buyers, he adds. On the back of these, the company has lowered its FY16 revenue growth guidance to 10 percent from 10-15 percent earlier, he says.11:45 am F&O expiry view: Corporate earnings, the Federal Reserve stance on interest rates and the Bihar elections will be the three factors driving market sentiment near term, Yogesh Radke, Head of Quantitative Research at Edelweiss Securities tells CNBC-TV18. He expects the Nifty to slip to 7800 in the November series. The roll over cost for the November series is around 45-50 basis points compared to an average of around 70 basis points during a bull market.11:30 am Market outlook: There is no reason why one should not grab Axis Bank at the current levels, suggests Dipen Sheth of HDFC Securities. He urges investors to look at all parameters like NIM, loan growth etc and not agonise over NPAs. Sheth calls the private lender responsible for admitting its September quarter asset quality concerns. He is also bullish on ICICI Bank , which also has stressed assets, and advises to own the two stocks with a 2-year time horizon. "We remain buyers," he told CNBC-TV18.

The market is volatile as generally seen on F&O expiry day. The Sensex is down 48.70 points or 0.2 percent at 26991.06 and the Nifty is down 19.95 points or 0.2 percent at 8151.25. About 1162 shares have advanced, 884 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged.

Bank and FMCG stocks are under heavy selling pressure. BHEL, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, GAIL and Maruti Suzuki are major losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices tumbled, cutting short a rally the day before after hints of an interest rate hike in December by the US Federal Reserve boosted the dollar.

Prices rose yesterday after the US Department of Energy said the country's commercial crude stockpiles had increased less than expected, suggesting stronger demand in the world's top oil consuming nation.

But the rebound was punctured after the Fed yesterday signalled it could raise rates before the end of the year, expressing optimism for the world's top economy after "solid" consumer spending and business investment.