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U.S. equity markets will reopen today after the Presidents’ Day holiday while forex and money markets back home are closed today on account of public holiday.
Trading was also lackluster ahead of the Union Budget on February 28 and government's road-map to bridge current account deficit and fiscal deficit that will help decide the pace of growth recovery in Asia's third-biggest economy.
At 1PM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex fell 20 points to trade at 19,482 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share Nifty declined 5 points at 5,893.
Meanwhile, Asian markets traded lower after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated downside risks to euro-zone economy.
Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.31% to 11,372.83, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.7% to 23,215.17, Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.02% to 3,289.64, while China's Shanghai Composite shed 2% to 2,374.
Back home, metals, capital goods, banking sectors traded lower while autos, real-estate, healthcare leading gains on BSE.
Among key Sensex stocks, ONGC and NTPC rose 2% and 1%, Cipla and Dr Reddy's gained 1.6% and 1% respectively, HUL added 1.5%, BHEL rose 0.7%, TCS and Wipro rose 0.6% each on BSE.
Among losers, Bharti Airtel fell 2%, RIL shed 1.2%, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel was down 1.3% and 0.7% respectively, Hero MotoCorp dropped over 1%, SBI and ICICI Bank were down 0.5% each on BSE.
The other key notable movers include, Kingfisher Airlines was locked at upper circuit at Rs 10.53 as UB Holdings seek to revamp support to the beleaguered Airlines.
Hotel Leela Ventures has zoomed 10% at Rs 27 after the Board of Directors approves to sell the company's IT Park Building in Chennai.
Tata Group retail arm Trent has advanced 2% at Rs 1,170 after the board approves a proposal to buy private equity fund TVS Shriram Growth Fund's entire stake in Landmark Ltd, for Rs 84 crore.
The broader markets traded positive with mid-caps and small-caps gaining 0.3-0.4% on BSE.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 2,653 stocks traded, 1,278 stocks gained compared to 1,229 declines on BSE.
