The key domestic benchmarks are likely to open higher today as
investors cheer better than expected Q2 GDP data which showed that Asia’s third
biggest economy expanded 5.3 per cent, year on year in the July-September 2014
quarter, above an estimated 5.1 per cent by analysts. Investors will be eying
the November HSBC Manufacturing PMI today. Caution ahead of the RBI monetary
policy review on Tuesday may curb the gains in the Sensex. The apex bank is
unlikely to cut rates despite a slowdown in growth last quarter as it gauges
whether the current downward trend of inflation can be sustained. Asian stocks
were trading mixed as energy companies declined on a slump in global oil prices.
China’s Shanghai Composite extended a rally but Hang Seng tumbled as China’s
manufacturing gauge fell to an eight-month low of 50.3 in November from 50.8 in
October, signaling a sharp slowdown in the manufacturing sector. Japan’s Nikkei
225 rose as a weaker yen boosted the appeal of exporter stocks.
