Nifty ends at 7955, Sensex flat; Bharti, GAIL down 1-3%

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended flat once again. The Sensex was up 23.74 points at 26169.41, and the Nifty gained 19.65 points or 0.2 percent at 7954.90. About 1669 shares advanced, 1155 shares declined and 148 shares were unchanged.

Vedanta, Tata Steel, Coal India, Hindalco and Dr Reddy's Labs were top gainers while Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys.

3:10 pm Buzzing: Shares of Bharti Airtel slipped 4 percent intraday as Credit Suisse has maintained underperform rating. The brokerage has also lowered target price to Rs 270 per share and cut earnings per share of FY18 by 6 percent. Credit Suisse is worried about Bharti Airtel's Project Leap, wherein it is planning to invest Rs 60,000 crore over three years. The brokerage feels Project Leap is a 40 percent step-up in the annual capex run-rate while surprise for markets could come from not only the increased per year quantum, but also its sustenance over a three year period.

"We see this announcement as a consequence of rising competitive concerns, with Reliance Jio set to enter the sector, and continuation of the rising capex trend that started with aggressive spectrum auction participation over the last couple of years. The other symptoms of market share loss and margin compression could occur post launch by Reliance Jio," Credit Suisse says in a note.

2:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to be rangebound. The Sensex rose 48.57 points to 26194.24 and the Nifty advanced 21.85 points to 7957.10.

About 1592 shares have advanced, 1152 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:50 pm IPO: Mumbai-based Alkem Laboratories is set to launch its initial public offer of 1.28 crore equity shares for subscription on December 8. The company has fixed price band at Rs 1020-1050 per share.

It is an offer for sale by selling shareholders, which includes a reservation of up to 2,98,913 equity shares for subscription by eligible employees.

Bids can be made for minimum of 14 equity shares and in multiples of 14 shares thereafter. The issue will close on December 10, 2015.

2:40 pm Auto sales: Mahindra & Mahindra's sales volume climbed 21 percent to 41,590 vehicles in November compared to 34,292 vehicles in same month last year, which was in line.

Nomura expected the company to report auto sales growth of 25.7 percent year-on-year, led by favorable base and new launches in utility vehicles (TUV 3OO) and pick-ups (Supro etc).

Domestic sales increased 23 percent Y-o-Y to 39,383 units while exports grew only 1 percent to 2,207 units in the month gone by.

M&M said passenger vehicle sales rose 36 percent to 19,662 units and utility vehicles sales increased 37 percent to 18,686 units compared to same month last year.

2:20 pm Fitch on RBI policy: Moody's Investors Service today said the Reserve Bank's efforts in bringing down inflation is credit positive for the country and hoped that the central bank will continue to remain vigilant in sticking to the target level.

The high inflation, it added, has been a constraint on the credit profile of the country in the past and food price volatility makes India vulnerable to inflation spikes.

"The RBI's success in bringing inflation to within its targets is credit positive. Today's announcement supports our expectation that the central bank will remain vigilant to the risks to its targets," Moody's Investors Service Associate MD - Sovereign Risk Group, Atsi Sheth said.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to be lacklustre for the second consecutive session today after the Reserve Bank of India has kept policy rates unchanged.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 7.41 points at 26153.08 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 13.45 points at 7948.70. The broader markets came off day's high but remained firm in afternoon trade.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. The market breadth was positive as about 1476 shares advanced against 1166 declining shares on the BSE.

1:45 pm ATF pirce: Jet fuel or ATF price was cut by a marginal 1.2 percent, the third reduction in as many months, while rate of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was hiked by Rs 61.50 a cylinder due to global cues.

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) price in Delhi was cut by Rs 526.2 per kilolitre (kl), or 1.2 percent, to Rs 44,320.32 per kl from Rs 44,846.82 per kl, oil companies announced today. This is the third straight monthly reduction since October.

In three reduction, ATF price has been cut by Rs 2,914.98 per kl. Rates vary from airport to airport depending on the local sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). Jet fuel constitutes over 40 percent of an airline's operating costs and the price cut will bring relief to the cash-strapped carriers.

1:30 pm RBI policy: RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said there were clear signs that the economy was recovering, despite weaknesses in some areas. Weak rural demand, agriculture and services sector inflation were among the causes for concern, he said.

Fielding questions from the media on the Credit Policy, Rajan said the central bank was accommodative, but at the same time vigilant on inflation was focussing on banks passing on the rates cuts so far by the RBI.

While the RBI has cut the repo rate by 125 basis points so far, banks have cut their base rates by only 60 basis points.

The market is rangebound as the Sensex is up 28.24 points at 26173.9. The Nifty up 18.45 points or 0.2 percent at 7953.70. About 1516 shares have advanced, 1085 shares declined, and 131 shares are unchanged.

HUL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Hindalco are top gainers in the Sensex. Among losers are Bharti Airtel, GAIl, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys.

Gold futures were up by Rs 126 to Rs 25,195 per 10 gram as speculators created fresh bets amid positive cues from the global markets. Analysts attributed the rise in gold prices to a firming trend overseas as investors await speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and the November jobs report later this week for more clues on when the Fed will raise rates.

Meanwhile, gold was trading 0.3 percent higher at USD 1,067.94 an ounce in Singapore.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks erased some gains in afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 20.35 points to 26166.02 and the Nifty advanced 14.45 points to 7949.70.

About 1470 shares have advanced, 1083 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:45 pm Auto sales: Country's second largest commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland also missed analysts' expectations with the November sales rising 16 percent year-on-year to 8,971 units.

Medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) sales increased 21 percent to 6,297 units and light commercial vehicle sales (LCV) were up 6 percent to 2,674 units compared to year-ago period.

Motilal Oswal expected 29 percent year-on-year growth in total sales while Nomura estimated MHCV segment growth at 25 percent for November.

12:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Bharti Airtel slipped 4 percent intraday as Credit Suisse has maintained underperform rating. The brokerage has also lowered target price to Rs 270 per share and cut earnings per share of FY18 by 6 percent.

Credit Suisse is worried about Bharti Airtel's Project Leap, wherein it is planning to invest Rs 60,000 crore over three years. The brokerage feels Project Leap is a 40 percent step-up in the annual capex run-rate while surprise for markets could come from not only the increased per year quantum, but also its sustenance over a three year period.

12:15 pm RBI on base rate calculation: The Reserve Bank today said it will shortly announce methodology for determining the base rate taking into account the marginal cost of funds, a move aimed at ensuring that banks pass on policy rate cuts to borrowers.

"In the meantime, since the rate reduction cycle that commenced in January, less than half of the cumulative policy repo rate reduction of 125 basis points has been transmitted by banks. The median base lending rate has declined only by 60 basis point," RBI said in its fifth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, 2015-16.

Base rate is the minimum benchmark rate below which a bank cannot lend.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks continued to be in positive momentum with the Nifty holding 7950 level, aided by FMCG, metals, banks and oil stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 81.91 points to 26227.58 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 33.50 points to 7968.75. The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5-0.7 percent.

The market breadth also remained positive as about 1482 shares advanced against 958 declining shares on the BSE.

HUL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Wipro, Tata Steel, Vedanta and Hindalco Industries topped the buying list on Sensex, up 2-3 percent while Bharti Airtel plunged 3 percent.

11:55 am Fly high: SpiceJet, which is firming up its ambitious fleet expansion plans, is evaluating possible partnership with Gulf's low cost airline FlyDubai. Apart from FlyDubai, the domestic carrier has received interest from various other Gulf airlines for collaboration, including for possible strategic investment, sources said.

Spokespersons of SpiceJet and FlyDubai could not be immediately reached for comments. FlyDubai has evinced interest for partnership with SpiceJet and both sides will discuss various options, including the possibility of the Gulf carrier making a strategic investment in the domestic airline, sources said.

Dubai-based Flydubai operates to over 95 destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe. The airline operates 29 flights per week to eight Indian cities -- Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram -- from Dubai.

11:45 am Buzzing:  Shares of Bata India, the footwear maker, have fallen 2.5 percent intraday Tuesday. Nomura has downgraded the stock to reduce from buy due to long-term structural issues.

The brokerage has also slashed target price to Rs 425 from Rs 660 earlier due to lower earnings per share forecast.

"In order to account for subdued demand, increasing competition and internal issues with Bata, we lower sales growth forecast for FY16 for Bata to 8.7 percent year-on-year, but forecast growth of 12 percent for FY17 and 15 percent thereafter as we expect consumption to pick up and the overall macro environment to improve," Nomura says in its note.

11:30 am Market outlook: Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak Institutional Equities says the market doesn't have any positive triggers to give it a specific direction. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Prasad says the market has factored in the passing of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and hence, is likely to be rangebound. "However, it is not likely to be implemented before April 2016 and its benefits will be seen only in FY18," adds Prasad. On sectoral picks, Prasad is bullish on Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto among automotives, but says the cement sector can be avoided.

11:15 am RBI credit policy highlights: Macro indicators suggest the economy is in the early stages of a recovery, though with some areas of continued weakness. Value added in agriculture and allied activities picked up on the modest increase in kharif output and timely policy interventions to stem the effects of the deficient south-west monsoon. Urban consumption showing signs of a pick-up in some areas such as passenger vehicles sales, but rural demand has been weakened by two consecutive deficient monsoons and slowing construction activity. New project announcements as measured by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy grew more strongly in the second quarter.

SDR inclusion to help China lure trillion-dollar inflows

Tata Steel, Vedanta, Dr Reddy's Labs, Wipro and Coal India are top gainers while Bharti, Axis Bank, Infosys, Hero and Tata are losers in the Sensex.

The RBI has kept benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.75 percent, after lowering it by 50 basis points, or front-loading policy action in September. The RBI has cut repo rate four times (125 basis points) since January 2015. Current CRR and SLR stand at 4 percent and 21.5 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki's November sales missed analysts' expectations on Tuesday due to fall in mini cars segment. The country's largest car manufacturer said it has sold 1,20,824 vehicles in November, 9.7 percent over 1,10,147 vehicles sold in year-ago period, aided by passenger cars (especially compact cars).

10:55 am Market update: The Sensex gained 37.59 points at 26183.26 and the Nifty rose 20.25 points to 7955.50. About 1402 shares have advanced, 813 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:45 am Manufacturing PMI: India's manufacturing sector grew at its weakest pace in over two years in November as demand and output continued to soften, a business survey showed today.

Nikkei's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by Markit, fell to a 25-month low of 50.3 in November from October's 50.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The output sub-index fell to 50.4 from 51.2 the previous month as domestic demand remained weak.

The subdued domestic demand and competitive pressure appeared to slow new orders, whose sub-index fell to a 25-month low of 50.5, from 51.2 in October.

10:30 am Maruti disappoints: Maruti Suzuki's November sales missed analysts' expectations on Tuesday due to fall in mini cars segment. The country's largest car manufacturer said it has sold 1,20,824 vehicles in November, 9.7 percent over 1,10,147 vehicles sold in year-ago period, aided by compact cars and utility vehicles segments.

Nomura had expected volumes to increase by around 14 percent year-on-year led by ramp up of new launches in domestic segment while Motilal Oswal was expecting 16.5 percent growth at 1.28 lakh units.

The company said domestic sales increased by 10.6 percent year-on-year to 1.1 lakh units while exports grew only by 1 percent in the month gone by. Passenger cars sales were up 8.7 percent to 89,479 units in same period.

10:15 am Market outlook: Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak Institutional Equities says the market doesn't have any positive triggers to give it a specific direction.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Prasad says the market has factored in the passing of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and hence, is likely to be rangebound.

"However, it is not likely to be implemented before April 2016 and its benefits will be seen only in FY18," adds Prasad.

10:00 am Market Check
The market remained marginally higher in morning trade as investors are cautious ahead of RBI monetary policy. The Sensex rose 34.36 points to 26180.03 and the Nifty advanced 19.15 points to 7954.40.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising half a percent each. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

India's central bank RBI is likely to keep its policy rate unchanged today, following a big cut two months ago, and to sound cautious about the scope for more easing as it aims to meet its 2017 inflation target and braces for a US rate hike.

All 45 respondents surveyed by Reuters last week expected the Reserve Bank of India to hold the repo rate at 6.75 percent, after easing it by 50 basis points at its last policy review in late September.

Metals & mining stocks gained strength. Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries, Coal India and Vedanta rallied 1.5-3 percent.

9:55 am Market outlook: Anand Kumar, Bank of America Merrill Lynch feels 18 months into a new government, the market still hopes for the revival of an industrial cycle.

He says earnings per share growth forecasts for the sector are up from nearly 10 percent pre-election to 30 percent now. "Tracking the government's incentives and abilities, we argue these hopes are misplaced, he adds.

Top bottom-up large cap picks are UltraTech Cement, SBI, ICICI Bank and ITC, he says, adding three growth stocks are Asian Paints, Godrej Consumer Products and Aurobindo Pharma.

9:45 am Macro data: Fiscal deficit for for April-October narrowed to Rs 4.11 lakh crore, compared to Rs 4.75 lakh crore during the same period last year. This works out to 74 percent of the FY16 Budget Estimate. Total spending during this period stood at at Rs 10.22 lakh crore, 57.5 percent of FY16 estimate, and net tax receipts for the period stood at Rs 4.29 lakh crore. Non-plan spend was Rs 7.51 lakh crore, 57.2 percent of FY16 estimate, and Plan spend was Rs 2.71 lakh crore, 58.2 percent of FY16 estimate. Revenue deficit was Rs 2.88 lakh crore, 72.9 percent of FY16 estimate, and non-tax revenue at Rs 1.62 lakh crore, 73 percent of FY16 estimate. April-October revenue receipts stood at Rs 5.91 lakh crore, 51.7 percent of FY16 estimate.

9:30 am Petrol price cut: The price of petrol was cut by 58 paise per litre and that of diesel by 25 paise, reversing the trend of increasing rates, on global cues. Petrol will cost Rs 60.48 per litre from mid-night tonight in Delhi as against Rs 61.06 (rpt) 61.06 a litre currently.

A litre of diesel will cost Rs 46.55 from today compared with the Rs 46.80 now, said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's biggest fuel retailer. The price cut more than reverses the hike of 36 paise a litre in petrol rates effected on November 16, the first increase in five months. Similarly, in the case of diesel, it reverses the three rounds of hikes since October -- the last being 87 paise a litre on November 16.

The market has opened in green as investors keep a keen eye on RBI credit policy review and November auto sales data. The Sensex is up 50.76 points or 0.2 percent at 26196.43 and the Nifty is up 22.90 points or 0.3 percent at 7958.15. About 527 shares have advanced, 106 shares declined, and 35 shares are unchanged.

Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Tata Motors and Hindalco are top gainers while Reliance, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, TCS and SBI are losers.

The Indian rupee gained in the early trade. It has opened higher by 14 paise at 66.53 per dollar versus 66.67 yesterday.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to maintain status quo in its policy meeting today, ahead of a potential mid-December Fed rate hike." The dollar gained marginally against major currencies as expectations for further stimulus this week from the European Central Bank drove the euro to its lowest since April.

Meanwhile, most Asian peers are higher despite a negative finish from Wall Street overnight. Chinese markets opened in the red after investor sentiment took a hit from private and official November PMI surveys. US stocks closed lower on Monday, weighed by retail results.