Sensex, Nifty consolidate; Tata Motors gains for 3rd day

Moneycontrol Bureau12:55 pm Market Update: The market remained volatile in afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 1.68 points to 26934.56 while the Nifty declined 6.50 points to 8146.40.About 1519 shares have advanced, 956 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged on the BSE.12:40 pm Europea opens higher: European stocks opened higher today after a sharp rebound in oil prices pulled most of the Asian markets into positive territory.

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.5 percent, the German DAX was 0.6 percent higher and the French CAC rose 0.3 percent.

European followed Asian markets Wednesday where shares rose on the back of a surge in oil prices. Oil prices jumped more than USD 2 a barrel in the previous session with the global benchmark, Brent crude, closing above $50 a barrel for the first time in a month.

The move came after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday that it expected global oil demand to increase by the most in six years as supply from non-OPEC countries stalls.

Additionally, on Tuesday Russia's energy minister said Russia and Saudi Arabia held talks about the oil market last week, spurring speculation of possible cooperation on reducing the global oil-supply glut.12:20 pm Will crude hit $60/bbl?: Brent crude price has once again climbed back above USD 50 per barrel after the United States cut output forecast. The US energy information administration forecast that US crude output would slow to 8.9 million barrels per day next year. This is good news for crude, says David Lennox of Fat Prophets.

However, as far as the upcoming OPEC meet is concerned, he does not see any change in rhetoric. He expects the markets to react more to whatever is happening in the US, including the dollar.

Lennox further expects any rally in commodities — be it gold or crude — to remain muted on the back of IMF lowering global growth forecast. However, he says crude has the greatest potential to rally. "Players can reduce production if they put their minds into it," he explains. He says crude can touch USD 60 per barrel by this year end.Also read - Overweight FIIs the biggest risk to Indian markets: HSBC12:00 pm Market Check

The market remained in tight range with Nifty in a band of 8150-8180. Technology, metals, auto, select banks and oil stocks gained strength. The Sensex rose 75.34 points to 27008.22 and the Nifty advanced 12.65 points to 8165.55.

The BSE Midcap turned flat while the BSE Smallcap gained 0.6 percent. The market breadth remained positive, with nearly two stocks rising for every one which fell on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Tata Motors gained 2 percent, in addition to more than 10 percent rally in previous two sessions after strong Jaguar Land Rover sales numbers in September.

Vedanta (5 percent), Hindalco (4 percent) and ONGC (2.6 percent) were top gainers in Nifty. Among the losers are HUL (-0.7 percent), L&T (-0.4 percent) and Axis Bank (-0.1 percent).     

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, metals (1.6 percent), auto (1.2 percent), power (0.9 percent) and consumer durables (0.9 percent) gained, while healthcare (-0.1 percent) were under pressure.

Jaiprakash Associates (5 percent), Rajesh Exports (4 percent), HDIL (3 percent), ABB India (3 percent) and Exide Industries (3 percent) were big winners in the midcap space. Other notable gainers included Reliance Power (3 percent), Tata Comm (3 percent), Adani Power (3 percent), SRF (3 percent) and TVS Motor (3 percent).

The rupee was quoting at 65.23 to the dollar, up 17 paise over its previous close. In other asset classes, gold was trading at USD 1136.5/ounce, up USD 0.80 or 0.1 percent over its previous close.