BSE Sensex down; Rahul Gandhi addresses India Inc

The Nifty is down 0.83 percent at 5,624.75, below the 200-day moving average which was at 5,638. The benchmark Sensex is down 0.98 percent.

Continued domestic political uncertainty and worries about early elections after the withdrawal of a key regional ally from the ruling coalition last month are weighing on investor sentiment.

Developments in the Korean peninsula and US jobs data due on Friday may signal slowing US growth.

Rahul Gandhi, promoted by many as the Congress' likely next prime ministerial candidate is addressing the India Inc at CII summit.

Key Takeaways

-Indian industry has done tremendous job over past few years
-Politics of alienating communities affects growth
-The government alone cannot build infrastructure
-Our problem is the lack of training and skills
-There are some problems that need exponential solutions; whenever India has done well it has done so not by incremental change but by radically altering structures
-I have come here to forge a long-term partnership with you to take this country forward
-India cannot go forward without working together
-Let us build brave new empowered India together

Foreign investors were provisional net sellers worth 3.68 billion rupees of stocks on Wednesday, exchange data showed.

Indian banks' advances grew at a slower pace in 2012/13 compared with a year earlier, and fell short of the central bank's projection, hurt by lower demand for credit from companies in a slowing economy.

ICICI Bank is down 1.42 percent, HDFC Bank is down 1.3 percent while State Bank of India is down 1.3 percent.

Technology share also fell tracking weak US equities. Infosys shares fall 1.1 percent while Tata Consultancy Services is 1.1 percent lower.

The March quarter proved to be good for IT stocks. The BSE IT index rose 24 percent outperforming the benchmark indices.

(With inputs from Reuters)