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India's gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow an annual 5% in the FY13 fiscal year, a government statement said on Thursday, citing provisional estimates.
The latest estimate is the worst of all growth projections issued by the government and the RBI. Last month, the RBI had pared the GDP growth estimate for the fiscal year ending in March to 5.5%, the worst since 2002-03.
By 11:35, the Sensex was down 11 points at 19,629 and they Nifty slipped 2 points at 5,957 levels.
On the global front, Asian shares and the euro paused on Thursday, marking time ahead of a European Central Bank policy decision and remarks from ECB President Mario Draghi on prospects for the euro zone economy. Nikkei, strait Times, Hang Seng and Shanghai have declined between 0.3-1%.
Back home, the rupee strengthened by 4 paise to Rs 53.12 a dollar in early trade on the Interbank Foreign Exchange on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.
On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durable, Metal and Capital Goods indices have gained between 1-1.5%. However, BSE IT index has surged by nearly 1%.
The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include HDFC, Tata Motors, TCS, Infosys, ICICI Bank and HUL.
On the losing side, NTPC is the top Sensex loser, lower by 1.6% to Rs 150, extending its previous day’s 2.1% fall, after the government proposes to offload its 9.5% stake in the company through the offer for sale (OFS) route.
Other losers include Sterlite, Cipla, Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, L&T and JSPL.
Among other shares, Manappuram Finance has tanked 11% to Rs 38 in morning trades after the Kerla-based gold loan company has reported 48% year-on-year (yoy) drop in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 (Q3).
The broader markets are trading on a mixed note. The market breadth in BSE remains almost neutral.
