Sensex, Nifty flat; Maruti & ITC big gainers, BHEL down

Moneycontrol Bureau11:45 am Market outlook: Despite the current volatility, the long-term outlook for the market remains positive, says Vaibhav Sanghavi, MD of Ambit Investment Advisory. However, going ahead, he expects more outflows from emerging markets. Sector-wise, he is bullish on private sector banks and two-wheeler companies. Sanghavi also expects more focus on rural spending in the Budget.

11:30 am Udayan's comments: In the near-term, the Nifty can possibly rebound to 7550 and if the global rally continues then 7700 is also a possibility, says CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee. However, he adds that the current rally is only a relief rally. The trend, according to him, is on the way down with periodic upmoves. He believes the market is currently in the 'acceptance' phase. Earlier investors and traders alike were of the view that a China hard landing is unlikely, but now the market is slowly coming to terms with the fact that there are global problems, he explains. So, what the market is seeing right now is a bit of a dead cat bounce, he adds. Post this phase, comes the assessment phase, when the market will move in a range or a band. But after this phase, the market will either go into an overreaction, which is when prices can fall sharply, or it will be confident that the problems facing the market are manageable and hence consolidate.Don't miss: loan growth likely to be subdued" href="http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/result-poll/hdfc-q3-profit-seen10-loan-growth-likely-to-be-subdued_5143061.html">HDFC Q3 profit seen up 10%, loan growth likely to be subdued

The market is completely flat as the Nifty hovers around 7450. The 50-share index is up 7.70 points or 0.1 percent at 7443.85. The Sensex is up 34.37 points or 0.1 percent at 24520.32. About 1156 shares have advanced, 869 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged.

NTPC, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki and ITC are top gainers while BHEL, Coal India, HUL, Adani Ports and L&T are losers in the Sensex.

Asia markets were mostly higher on Wednesday after Wall Street surged overnight on a bounce in oil prices and positive earnings news, shrugging off the recent global rout, at least temporarily. But China shares took another leg lower.

Oil plays around the region were mixed, however. While WTI crude oil settled up 3.66 percent, well off session highs of over USD 32 a barrel, in overnight US trade, it gave back some of those gains in Asian hours. WTI was down 0.99 percent at USD 31.13 a barrel in Asia trade, while Brent shed 0.25 percent to USD 31.72 a barrel.