Sensex, Nifty open flat on F&O expiry day; Bharti, HDFC drag

Moneycontrol Bureau9:55 am Autos in focus: As auto companies gear up to announce December sales data analysts say real impact of demonetisation on auto sales volumes is expected to be felt in December. According to Motilal Oswal, two-wheelers are likely to be worst hit on account of demonetisation.

Nomura sees December wholesales to be impacted by a sharp decline in retailsales due to demonetization, and inventory de-stocking by original equioment manufacturers (OEMs) to clear off 2016 model year inventory.

9:45 am Market check: The Sensex is up 22.25 points at 26232.93 and the Nifty is up 11.60 points at 8046.45. About 1049 shares have advanced, 495 shares declined, and 80 shares are unchanged.

ITC, Bharti, Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Labs are losers in the Sensex. TCS, ONGC, Axis Bank, NTPC and Wipro are gainers.

9:30 am FII view: Naveen Kulkarni of PhillipCapital said, "As inflation challenges can arise in the medium-term, and there are expectations of a populist Budget, rate cuts are more likely to be deferred. Recommend buying inflation protection plays like consumer staples, exports, and commodity plays which can deliver portfolio alpha."

"Add Hindustan Unilever (HUL) to model portfolio in place of Dabur India and increase weight for Infosys and cut position in Idea Cellular. Within exports theme, top picks are Infosys, Sun Pharma, and Aurobindo Pharma," he added.

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The market has opened flat on December Futures & Options expiry today. The Nifty is down 11.00 points at 8023.85 and the Sensex is down 29.47 points or 0.1 percent at 26181.21.

HUL, Adani Ports, L&T, Bharti Airtel and HDFC bank are losers while Axis Bank, Lupin, Cipla, M&M and SBI are gainers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened flat at 68.24 per dollar versus previous close 68.24.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Year-end holidays expected to keep volumes and activity in currency markets low and thin. USD-INR expected trading range for the day 68-68.30/dollar."The Japanese yen strengthened against the dollar, meanwhile the dollar index is firm above 103 mark, remember it has gained 4.7 percent this year. All those gains have come after the November 8 US election.Global markets are unsteady as Dow closed down triple digits triggered by a sharp drop in home re-sales. Asian shares slipped on Thursday after Wall Street suffered a mild setback after weeks of gains, while the dollar stayed in demand as US government debt offered ever-fatter premiums over euro zone bonds.

Japan's Nikkei lost 0.7 percent, edging away from its recent one-year top. Australia's main index eased 0.4 percent, having touched a 17-month peak the previous day.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off a slight 0.1 percent.US stocks fell in low volume in a broad decline triggered in part by a sharp drop in home resales. Contracts to buy previously-owned US homes fell in November to their lowest level in nearly a year, a sign that rising interest rates could be weighing on the housing market.