Sensex hovers around 27,900; BHEL down 3%

Benchmark indices have come off day’s high and are trading in a narrow range amid positive bias with Sensex and Nifty hovering around 27,900 mark and 8,350 levels, respectively.

Index heavyweight shares like ITC and Infosys are trading lower on account of profit taking whereas rate sensitive shares are witnessing some buying demand.

UBS has raised Nifty's target to 9,600 for 2015 from its 2014 target of 8,000 and said the macroeconomic data and earnings should lift markets.

At 1135 hrs, the Sensex was up 32 points at 27,906 and the Nifty was up 9 points to trade at 8,353.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices have gained between 0.3-1%.

Markets will remain volatile as investors turn cautious ahead of the release of industrial production and consumer inflation data later in the week.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 355.30 crore yesterday, provisional data released by the stock exchanges showed.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Japanese and Chinese stock markets stood out against a mostly lacklustre backdrop in Asia on Tuesday, with a deal to give global investors easier access to China's $3.9 trillion stock market partially offsetting worries about declining oil prices.

Chinese shares continued to outperform and were at three-year highs. They added 1.3 percent on top of the previous session's 2.5% surge after officials announced on Monday that a Nov 17 would mark the beginning of a tie-up that will allow global investors to buy Chinese stocks from Hong Kong.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan erased early losses and eked out a 0.1% gain. Japan's Nikkei stock average added 1.4%, extending gains as the yen turned lower in afternoon trade.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Rate sensitive sectors like auto and banks are trading higher between 0.4-1% ahead of consumer inflation data which will be released tomorrow.

Inflation is expected to slow to a record-low in October, dragged by sharp drop in food and oil prices, a Reuters poll showed, probably intensifying calls for an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India.

However, sectors like FMCG, IT and Power are trading marginally lower.

The main gainers on the Sensex are M&M, GAIL, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma, all gaining between 1-2%.

On the losing side, BHEL is the top Sensex loser, down nearly 3%. Other notable losers are Infosys, Coal India, ITC, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy’s Labs have declined between 1-2%.

Among other shares, Redington (India) has surged 8% to Rs 105 on the BSE after Reliance Mutual Fund bought nearly 4% stake in commodity trading and distribution company for about Rs 160 crore through open market.

Amtek Auto has soared 15% to Rs 188 on NSE on reports that the company’s international business arm, Amtek Global Technologies, has secured a long-term loan of 235 million euro (over Rs 1,800 crore) from global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), to replace its existing short- term loan.

The market breadth in BSE remains marginally positive with 1,357 shares advancing and 1,117 shares declining.