Sensex, Nifty consolidate; auto, FMCG stocks under pressure

10:45am FII View

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Adrian Mowat, Chief Asian & Emerging Equity Strategist, JPMorgan said the key focus of the markets will be on the US Federal Reserve meeting this week, where the Fed might announce a closure of QE3. Mowat expects Fed to maintain low interest rates for a considerable period of time.

“We will watch for words “considerable time” from the Fed regarding rate moves,” he added.

Speaking about emerging markets, he said JPMorgan is looking to pump more funds into India. The research firm has downgraded Brazil to neutral and recommends moving money from Brazil to markets like India. He expects 20 percent returns from the Indian equity market in next 12 months.

Further he is betting on Indian banks and sees an attractive environment for interest rate-sensitive sectors. He prefers investing in cyclicals like autos and building materials.

10:30am Brent crude declines

Brent crude futures extended declines to below USD 86 a barrel on Monday after Goldman Sachs cut its price forecasts for the contract and for US oil by USD 15 in the first quarter of next year.

The US investment bank said in a research note on Sunday that it had cut its forecast for West Texas Intermediate to USD 75 a barrel from USD 90, and its prediction for Brent to USD 85 from USD 100, with rising production in non-OPEC countries outside North America expected to outstrip demand.

The bank's analysts expect WTI to fall as low as USD 70 a barrel and Brent to USD 80 in the second quarter of 2015, when it expects oversupply to be most pronounced.

London Brent crude for December delivery was trading 32 cents lower at USD 85.81 a barrel by 0152 GMT, after settling down 70 cents on Friday. The front-month contract dropped to below USD 83 on Oct. 16, its lowest in almost four years.

US crude for December delivery was down 8 cents at USD 80.93 a barrel, reports Reuters.

10:00am Market Check

Equity benchmarks remained positive amid consolidation. The Sensex climbed 52.62 points to 26903.67 and the Nifty rose 16.40 points to 8030.95. About 982 shares have advanced, 921 shares declined, and 77 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Banking and financial stocks supported the market. Top lender State Bank of India and rival HDFC Bank rallied around a percent each while ICICI Bank was up 0.5 percent. Housing finance company HDFC gained 1.8 percent.

Dr Reddy's Labs, BHEL and Gail India topped the buying list, up 2-3 percent. Hindalco Industries gained more than a percent.

However, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra fell more than 1.5 percent on profit taking. Two-wheeler manufacturers Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto declined 0.8 percent each while car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 0.4 percent.

Shares of ITC, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Wipro, HUL and NTPC declined 0.5-0.8 percent. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com