Markets likely to open flat; auto, OMC shares in focus

RBI policy meet, developments in Parliament and economic indicators will set the trend for trading in the coming week

Markets are likely to open on a flat note tracking the mixed trends in their Asian peers. Some volatility is expected later in the session as the stocks which have logged new highs in the past few sessions will react sharply to GDP data that was released after markets closed on Friday. 
 
At 5.3% GDP growth for the July-September quarter is better than street expectations but lower than the 5.7% growth of the last quarter which has increased the clamour for a rate cut from RBI though the central bank may defer any such measure to the next policy review meeting. 

 
The release of HSBC manufacturing PMI data for November on Monday and HSBC India services PMI on Wednesday would also help shape directions.
 

At 8:30AM, the early indicator SGX Nifty was flat at 8,617.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 935.86  crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

Asian markets are largely trading weak with the notable exception of Nikkei index which has gained around 0.8%. According to HSBC manufacturing PMI data for the month of November, there is a modest recovery in the Japanese economy. The final Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was 52.0 in November.

 
Chinese shares are trading mixed with Hang Seng losing close to 2% and Shanghai Composite index gaining 0.6%.
 
Overnight, US stocks ended mostly flat in a holiday-shortened session on Friday, but major indexes rose for a sixth straight week.
 
The Dow Jones industrial average ended flat at 17,828, the S&P 500 lost  0.2% to 2,067.56 and the Nasdaq Composite closed flat at 4,791.63.
 
Stocks in focus
 
Auto shares will be in focus as these companies would be unveiling their monthly sales figures. Hero MotoCorp  will be in focus on its plans to expand in Southern America. The company is planning to set up manufacturing units in Brazil and Argentina and a plant is coming up in Colombia.

 
OMCs like HPCL,BPCL and IOC  will be in focus as petrol price was cut by 91 paise a litre on Sunday, the seventh reduction since August, and diesel by 84 paise per litre, the third straight cut, as international oil rates continued to slump.
 
JSW Steel is in focus on the reports that is  is working towards a de-risking strategy for iron ore that will fuel its ambition to turn its Bellary plant into the world’s largest single-site steel plant by 2022.
 
Engineering and construction major Punj Lloyd will be in focus as it  will finalise its stake sale in Gurgaon-based hospital Medanta Medicity by December-end, a move aimed at reducing the company's Rs 6,000 crore debt.