'Winter session key for stock markets'

"The government seems committed to fiscal reforms and more announcements / action on these will be needed to sustain markets at current levels and help them move higher," said Dipen Shah, Head of PCG Research, Kotak Securities.

On the global front, developments regarding the US 'fiscal cliff' could also weigh on sentiment, brokers said.

With the 2G auction realising far lesser amount than expected, concerns on the fiscal deficit front have deepened. While October inflation rate did come in better than expected at about 7.45 per cent, RBI has indicated that it still remains at elevated levels.

Besides local factors, fresh worries over the economies of Eurozone and the US had dragged down the Sensex and the Nifty by around 2 per cent last week.

Figures released by the European Union's official statistics agency on Thursday had showed the combined GDP of the 17 countries that share the euro fell for the second