BSE Sensex, Nifty flat; Sun Pharma, Tata Power gain 2%

Moneycontrol Bureau
Live Market Commentary

12:00 pm Results poll: Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland will declare its second quarter (July-September) results today.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect the company to continue posting losses in September quarter on margin pressure and higher interest burden. In June quarter, it had posted its largest quarterly loss of Rs 142 crore since Q3FY02 due to weak sales, high interest costs and high discounts.

11:50 am Interview: Automotive major Bajaj Auto's October sales declined to 3.84 lakh units versus 4.11 lakh units year-on-year (YoY). The three-wheeler sales of the company declined 26 percent to 37,000. Rajiv Bajaj, its managing director, however, says that the sales have been in line with the averages. The run rate for the segment is at 40,000 units per month and high sales in October 2012 were an outlier, tells CNBC-TV18.

In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj expects to regain some of the lost market share. Sales of Boxer have been good, backed by strong export demand, he says. The company will try to push production of its Discover brands in the coming two months as their success will help in regaining their market share, he adds.

11:40 am Market outlook: Sangeeta Purushottam, Cogito Advisors does not think it is a runaway bull market. She advises investors to look at the beaten down cyclicals and be ready to hold them for 2-3 years.

According to her, there may still be some value left in pharma and IT stocks. Though FMCG is priced to perfection and is starting to show signs of stress, she says.

She feels investors can perhaps take a 5 percent exposure to infrastructure stocks in their overall portfolio across the entire gamut of these stocks. "These companies have stayed through very difficult last five years, so they have managed to live through the entire business stress," Purushottam explains.

11:30 am Buzzer: Shares of rice companies are gaining on reports of price hike. Kohinoor Foods was up 10 percent, KRBL gained 9 percent while LT Foods surged 10 percent in intraday trade on Wednesday. Reports suggest that a decline in paddy production in eastern states and Andhra Pradesh has triggered speculation of a lower rice output this year. This may increase rice prices by 10-30 percent.

Don't miss: Brent rises back towards $106 after US oil product data

The market is extremely flat. The Sensex is up 40.25 points at 21015.04, and the Nifty up 4.90 points at 6258.05. About 1048 shares have advanced, 628 shares declined, and 93 shares are unchanged.

Technology and pharma stocks are holding up the indices with big gainers as Sun Pharma, TCS and Wipro. Sesa Sterlite, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, HDFC and HUL.

Asian markets are cautious as investors await further cues from global central banks. Nymex crude is hovering near 5-month lows and Brent is at levels of USD 105 per barrel.

Government bond prices fall tracking the sharp rise in us treasury yields. Heavy supply of bonds in this week also weighed on prices.