Dull start to markets: Rupee weak, Nifty below 6200 on profit booking

Indian markets opened flat this morning on subdued global cues. Investors await the US jobs data which was delayed by the government shutdown.

While the BSE Sensex opened at 20856.17, down 37 points while NSE Nifty opened at 6196, down 0.1 percent or 8.95 points. Even the Indian rupee opened 25 paise weaker at 61.77 against the US dollar.

NS Venkatesh, IDBI Bank in an interview with CNBC-TV18 said, “Rupee is expected to move in a narrow range taking cues from the movement of equity markets. FII inflows likely to remain strong, which would provide support on the downside.” “However, regular demand from the importers will continue to cap any extra gains. The range for the day is seen between 61.20-61.70/USD,” he added.

[caption id=“attachment_1017557” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Nifty still below 6200[/caption]

BSE oil & gas index begins the day at the bottom of the sectoral pack with losses of 0.5 percent while the capital index was the top sectoral index, up 0.8 percent.

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Suzlon Energy, JP Associates, Unitech and IDFC are among the top traded stocks on the NSE. Banking stocks are under pressure with ICICI Bank and HDFC as major laggards. Reliance, ITC and NTPC are other losers in the Sensex. Wipro, ONGC, TCS, Maruti and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex.

“The opening is a flat start. Some profit-taking may be seen in counters which have sprinted in recent days,” said IIFL in a report.

However, foreign brokerages are still bullish on India and expect a minimum 5 percent upside tot he markets between now and the year end.

Globally,Chinese property data is also due today. Japan’s Nikkei is down a tad while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index has lost 0.60%. South Korea’s Kospi is marginally lower and China’s Shanghai is slightly down. The Dow Jones was down marginally while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was flat. Nasdaq managed to add 5 points.