Sensex, Nifty continue to consolidate: banks, infra stocks firm

Moneycontrol Bureau 12:50 pm Exclusive: Indian Hotels is in talks to merge Taj GVK Hotels with itself as the GVK Reddy family wishes to exit the business, reports CNBC-TV18.
Sources say Indian Hotels, which currently holds around 25.5 percent in Taj GVK and Reddy family, which holds about 50 percent stake are in process of negotiating swap ratio for the merger.

Taj GVK, which has debt of roughly Rs 362 crore on its books, will cease to exist as separate listed entity if the merger goes through.    12:30 pm Commodity: Foreigners may be avoiding China's stock market in droves, but it has offered up interesting opportunities, said Mark Matthews, head of research for Asia at Julius Baer. China's markets have stumbled since the start of the year, with the Shanghai composite down nearly 13 percent so far this year, even as US stock indexes have been tapping record highs. "It is the most despised market in the world. Foreigners have never been more underweight China than they are now," Matthews told CNBC.Don't miss: RBL Bank IPO opens: Should you subscribe or avoid?The market is still under pressure as the Sensex is down 11.23 points at 28112.21 and the Nifty up 1.25 points at 8674.50. About 1479 shares have advanced, 934 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged. SBI, BHEL, Cipla, L&T and Asian Paints are top gainers while Coal India, Bharti Airtel, TCS, Axis Bank and HDFC are losers in the Sensex. Brent crude held firmly above USD 50 a barrel today as a bullish momentum continued, fuelled by hopes of an output freeze by key producers and data showing robust US demand.Prices have roared back to enter a bull market, rallying more than 20 per cent from lows seen earlier this month when they pushed below USD 40 a barrel for the first time since April.