Sensex continues to gain, Bank Nifty at 1-yr high; metals down

Moneycontrol Bureau10:55 am Views on oil: Technical analyst and CEO at Guppytraders.com, Daryl Guppy says, " In June we were bullish on oil, setting an upside target near USD 58 based on the breakout above USD 48. The upsides target was not achieved. The trend breakout failed to develop and the oil price fell. Despite this short-term behavior, the long-term outlook for oil is bullish with medium term targets at USD 58."10:45 am Market outlook: Business for rural-focussed companies is expected to strengthen says Dhananjay Sinha of Emkay Global Financial Services speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sideline of the Emkay Confluence. He also sees some improvement in urban demand.

Through the confluence Emkay is trying to assess whether rural and urban discretionary spending has improved at the ground level. It covers sectors like retail, information technology and banking and financial services, among others, Sinha says.

There has been increase in government spending and lot of thrust on policy front for rural India which is expected to drive demand, he says. Higher disposable income from pay commission implementation would also lift urban discretionary spending, he adds.

10:30 am Upgrade: Moody's Investors Service retained India's growth forecast at 7.5 per cent for 2016 but revised upwards estimates for China to 6.6 per cent citing strong fiscal and monetary support.

In its latest assessment of the global economy, Moody's Investors Service said the outlook for emerging markets economies has stabilised but outlined the policy changes post the US presidential election in November as the most immediate downside risks to the global economic outlook.

Moody's now expects China to grow at the rate of 6.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent in 2016 and 2017, respectively as compared to the previous forecast of 6.3 per cent and 6.1 per cent, with the higher growth rate being driven by significant fiscal and monetary policy support," it said in a statement.

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The market continues to rise with support from index heavyweights like banks. The Sensex is up 106.16 points or 0.4 percent at 28111.53 and the Nifty is up 33.50 points or 0.4 percent at 8657.55. About 1230 shares have advanced, 525 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

Bank Nifty is at 52-week high with gainers like HDFC twins, SBI, ICICI and Axis Bank. Gainers in the Sensex include Adani Ports, TCS and BHEL. Metals have cooled off from yesterday's rise. Coal India, GAIL, Tata Steel, L&T and Wipro are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices dipped in early trading as the prospect of record Saudi output weighed on markets and as traders cashed in on profits following an almost uninterrupted price rally this month of nearly 20 percent.

Traders said the price dip was due to profit taking following a strong rally this month, and as traders priced in the prospect of another production record from top exporter Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is sending signals that it could boost its crude oil supplies in August, even higher than its record 10.67 million barrels per day reached in July, as it gets ready for tough talks next month for a global output freeze pact.