Sensex, Nifty, Midcap marginally higher; HDFC, Wipro, Cipla down

Moneycontrol Bureau10:45 am FII View: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) moves to ease interest rates and at the same time improve liquidity to help borrowers benefits from low rates could be a game changer for the economy, says Adrian Mowat, MD - Chief Asian and EM Equity Strategist at JP Morgan. The RBI, in its monetary policy meet on Tuesday announced a series of measures to improve liquidity in the banking system so that banks pass on the benefits of lower rates to its customers.Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mowat says that there has been a degree of momentum building in the capital expenditure cycle. There are expectations of the wholesale inflation turning positive, he adds. There have been improvements in sectors like automobile and cement. JP Morgan expects a 10 percent increase in cement sales over two months period, he says. 10:25 am Buzzing: Bharat Forge shares fell 5 percent intraday after its North American Class 8 truck orders in March hit lowest level since September 2012.

North American Class 8 Truck orders stood at 15,800 units, degrowth of 37 percent compared to a year-ago period and down 12 percent from preceding month.

Class 8 trucks contributed 20 percent to total revenue of Bharat Forge. While maintaining underperform with a target price of Rs 650, Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects profit in Q4FY16 to decline 13 percent on yearly basis as as truck orders from the US have been deteriorating.

The brokerage also expects the stock to de-rate owing to muted earnings.Also read - No FDI in sectors that can put Indian jobs at peril: Govt 10:00 am Market Check

Equity benchmarks were marginally higher amid volatility in morning trade. The Sensex rose 56.99 points to 24940.58 and the Nifty advanced 21.95 points to 7625.15, led by auto, telecom, metals and pharma stocks.

The broader markets also traded higher with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively. About 1102 shares advanced against 559 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, Coal India, BHEL and M&M gained 1-4 percent while HDFC, Wipro and Cipla fell 0.7 percent each.

Asia markets turned higher, shrugging off a global sell-off in equities overnight, as oil prices advanced and activity in China's services sector showed signs of pick-up.