Nifty hits 6300, United Spirits falls 2.4% after court annuls Diageo deal

The Indian markets gained momentum today with the Nifty hitting 6300 in the morning trade despite a flat opening.The Nifty is up 33.15 points at 6307.40 while the Sensex gains 120.40 points to be at 21200.12.

Markets are however expected to remain firm in a holiday-truncated week, despite a potential rise in volatility due to expiry of December derivatives contracts on Thursday, while taking cues from foreign inflows.

Infosys is reacting negatively (down 1 percent) as its top management exodus continues sinceV Balakrishnan, director, resigned to start his own private equity firm. This is the eight top level exit at Infosys since June. Balakrishnan told CNBC-TV18 that his exit has nothing to do with Narayana Murthy’s return.

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Banking stocks are also weak today with pressure seen in HDFC Bank and SBI .

Other losers in the Sensex are Tata Power and Sesa Sterlite.On the gaining side are Hindalco , Bajaj Auto , L&T, NTPC and ONGC .

Meanwhile, the rupee opened at 62.07 against the US dollar on Monday, down 3 paise compared to Friday’s closing value of 62.04 per dollar. The dollar index held above the 80.50 mark. Meanwhile the dollar-yen continued to trade around 104 level.

In a December report, Goldman Sach’s investment management division predicted “the strong possibility of significant underperformance and heightened volatility over the next five to 10 years.” The client note, titled “Emerging Markets: As the Tide Goes Out,” recommended that investors with a “moderate” tolerance for risk reduce their exposure by one-third, from 9 percent to 6 percent of overall portfolios.

Globally, the US gross domestic product (GDP) for Q3 came in better-than-expected propelling the markets higher and the Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs. The US markets notched up 2-3 percent gains for the week. European markets too record their best week in eight months and Asian markets opened modestly higher in early trade.

Stocks in news:

United Spirits falls 2.4 percent after court annuls Diageo deal; United Breweries Holdings falls 2.8 percent.The Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered the annulment of the sale of United Spirits to British spirits group Diageo. The order was in response to a winding up petition filed by creditors to United Breweries Holdings, after Kingfisher Airlines defaulted on payments.

BSE capital goods index starts the session at the top of the sectoral pack with gains of 1 percent

The top Sensex losers–Tata Power falls 1.1 percent, Infosys down 0.7 percent, HDFC Bank sheds 0.1 percent.