Sensex, Nifty consolidate; Pharma index up, FMCG falls 1%

Moneycontrol Bureau11:50 am FII view: India is the fastest growing large economy with benign inflation that will allow it to endure high valuations, says Adrian Mowat, Managing Director & Chief Strategist for Asian and Emerging Market Equity at JP Morgan. Mowat, a firm believer in India story, says growing auto sales, softer inflation, and a relatively dovish statement by the Reserve Bank (RBI) are some of the positives that makes him relatively confident of India. He sees the possibility of a pick up in earnings from 2016. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said investments in Indian infrastructure will continue and so will ongoing inflow in domestic mutual funds. He, however, remains cautious of dramatic rise in midcaps and believes if the RBI keeps rates unchanges even in the second half of this year, market may react negatively. He advises investors to remain with largecap stocks.11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Rolta India surged 8 percent intraday as it has been awarded Smart City and 3D Mapping with city modelling projects in Middle East. The deal is pegged at around USD 15 million.

KK Singh, CMD of the company said, "Through our deep expertise with hundreds of Smart Cities client engagements, Rolta is helping cities around the world transform how they deliver services and engage with citizens leveraging innovative technologies such as Big Data, Analytics, GIS, 3D Mapping, Mobility and Social Media."Don't miss: MTNL up 6%; to get Rs 458 cr as compensation for spectrum

After some rally yesterday the market has started to consolidate on Thursday. The Sensex is up 0.29 points at 28223.37 and the Nifty is up 1.30 points at 8569.25. About 1336 shares have advanced, 1009 shares declined, and 143 shares are unchanged.

Pharma index is up over 1 percent while FMCG is down 1 percent. Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Cipla, Hindalco and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while ITC, Coal India, Wipro, ICICI Bank and Maruti are among laggards in the Sensex.

Asian shares mostly rose while the dollar held firm after strong service-sector data and comments from a Fed policymaker boosted optimism about the United State economy and fanned expectations of a US rate hike in September.

Investors are worried that weaning off decade-long zero interest rates on the dollar could prove tough for some emerging economies and companies that have taken cheap dollar funding for granted.