A cracker of a session!

Troubles as light as air, love as deep as ocean, friends as solid as diamonds, and success as bright as Gold… These are our wishes for you and your family on the eve of Diwali.

The global markets seem to be already in Diwali mode. Increasing hopes of a long-term solution to the eurozone debt problem at Wednesday’s summit is boosting sentiment for now. A grim reading on private sector activity in the debt-strapped eurozone is not being given much attention.



On the other hand, the preliminary manufacturing PMI for China has brought some relief. Commodities, including crude oil, surged on that news.

US markets rose as did their European counterparts. But, Asian benchmarks are mixed to flat. NSE Nifty Futures trading on SGX are pointing to a positive opening.

Volatility could spike today owing to the F&O expiry.

Much of the day's trend will hinge on the RBI policy and commentary from the central bankers. Some market players and economists expect the RBI to at least drop a hint of a pause. Banks will be in focus due to the credit policy and concerns over growing bad loans in a slowing economy.

The strength of rising gap failed to extend beyond 5150 levels on the Nifty on Monday, as market participant remained cautious ahead of the RBI credit policy. All eyes are set on 5170; a breakout above the same has the potential to lift the Nifty to 5600 levels.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1.01bn (provisional) in the cash segment on Monday, according to NSE data. The domestic institutional institutions (DIIs) were net sellers at Rs 1.58bn on the same day.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 7.36bn in the F&O segment on Monday, as per provisional NSE data.

FIIs were net sellers at Rs 1.78bn in the cash segment on Friday, according to SEBI data. Mutual funds were net sellers of Rs 544mn on the same day.

Key Results Today: Alstom Projects, BASF India, Dr. Reddy's, Engineers India, Kalyani Steel, KEC Intnl, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Mirc Electric, NTPC, Oracle Financial, Sesa Goa and TIL.

Global Events Today: Germany's GFK consumer confidence survey, BOE's Governor King Speech, S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, Bank of Canada Interest Rate Decision, US consumer confidence and Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index.

A SPV with equity participation from BSNL and MTNL and other public sector units such as Rail-Tel, Gail and PowerGrid will be entrusted with the Rs 200bn project to build a national broadband network.

India's steel output in the first nine months of this year grew by 5.3%, compared to the world's average growth of 8.2%.

According to the latest data, power stations with less than a week's coal stock have risen to a record 51, up from 36 at the beginning of the month.

JSW Steel is reportedly considering a bid for New Hope, the Australian coal producer valued at A$5bn.

Power Grid Corporation has proposed to form a joint venture in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the setting up of an associated transmission lines to transmit power within the respective countries from the proposed power project planned by NTPC.

Essar Energy will boost the capacity of its Vadinar refinery by 25% by December and increase its ability to process cheaper grades of crude to deliver higher refining margins.

Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are looking at outsourcing the body-building processes to trim costs, boost supply channel network and reduce dependence component suppliers.

Jindal Steel and Power plans to spend up to Rs 150bn in the next three years to add another 3.5mt capacity at its Raigarh plant in Chhattisgarh, taking its annual production capacity to 6.5 MT.