Sensex, Nifty firm; Dr Reddy, Bharti, Hero laggards

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am Market outlook: The trajectory of earning growth which saw a modest decline in the first half is likely to see recovery in the second half and FY17 will see a proper growth in earrings, is the word coming in Anish Damania, CEO, IDFC Securities. According to him earnings for the whole year would grow around 7 percent. First half saw a decline of 3 percent but second half would see a growth of around 10-12 percent and FY17 would see a growth of 20 percent on back of government’s increased spending, lower inflation, seventh pay commission coming through, OROP etc. On basis of all the above developments, he expects Nifty to hit 9250 within a year.11:45 am Interview: Balaji Telefilms is looking to expand its television as well as the film business extensively in coming quarters. The production house added four new shows in last quarter and will add two more in the next quarter, Ekta Kapoor, Joint MD of the company told CNBC-TV18. The company is its second quarter reported an 8 percent decrease in total income to Rs 55.07 crore year-on-year (YoY). Net profit came in at Rs 7.287 crore against a loss of Rs 7.6 crore last year. FY17 will be a crucial year for the company, as it expects a turnaround in its film business with six to seven new releases, said Sameer Nair, Group CEO11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Infosys declined nearly 2 percent intraday Tuesday after the India’s second largest IT company warned investors of weaker margins in second half of current financial year 2015-16.

In a conference call on Monday, it says weaker margin will mainly be due to lower spending by the company’s top clients on account of the festive season. It also expects third quarter earnings to be soft but is confident of growth bouncing back in fourth quarter. Generally, third quarter for IT companies remain soft due to less number of working days (on holidays) and furloughs.Don't miss: Is Pearl Agro another Sahara scam in the making, asks SC 

The market is holding up its gains with the Nifty nearing 7850. The 50-share index is up 28.80 points or 0.4 percent at 7835.40. The Sensex is up 107.72 points or 0.4 percent at 25867.82. About 1310 shares have advanced, 794 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Vedanta, ITC, Tata Steel and Cipla are top gainers while Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and M&M are among losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices extended gains in Asia on Tuesday but the uptick was capped as investors waited for data on US crude stockpiles expected to further underscore a global supply glut. Prices pushed higher yesterday after US-led coalition jets bombed the Islamic State group's oil operations following the deadly attacks on Paris, but analysts said the impact of geopolitical tensions on the oil market is limited.