Nifty volatile; rupee slips to 67/$, ITC & Cipla shares gain 2%

Moneycontrol Bureau12:43 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened slightly lower as global markets tread carefully amid nerves over central bank action.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.1 percent.

Markets in Asia opened lower, following a mixed finish in the US as oil prices dropped further and uncertainty lingered over key central bank policy meetings next week.

The US Federal Reserve meets on September 20, although the chances of a rate hike remain slim; market expectations for a Fed rate hike next week were 15 percent, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

12:25 pm Salary growth: India has seen a salary growth of just 0.2 per cent since the great recession eight years back, while China recorded the largest real salary growth of 10.6 per cent during the period under review, says a report.

According to a new analysis by the Hay Group division of Korn Ferry, India's salary growth stood at 0.2 per cent in real terms, with a GDP gain of 63.8 per cent over the same period.

During the period under review, China, Indonesia and Mexico had the largest real salary growth at 10.6 per cent, 9.3 per cent and 8.9 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, some other emerging markets including Turkey, Argentina, Russia and Brazil had the worst real salary growth at (-) 34.4 per cent, (-) 18.6 per cent, (-) 17.1 per cent and (-) 15.3 per cent, respectively.Also read - Don't see any market meltdown coming: JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon12:00 pm Market Check:

Equity benchmarks remained choppy in noon trade with the Sensex hovering around 28400 level. The Indian rupee fell sharply to breach 67 a dollar on proposal for devaluation.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 22.72 points at 28394.95 and the 50-share NSE Nifty up 5.35 points at 8731.95. About 1319 shares advanced against 1050 declining shares on the BSE.

The Indian rupee fell abruptly today after sources told CNBC-TV18 that the commerce ministry will propose a devaluation in the unit to promote dwindling exports, but trimmed losses after a finance ministry denial.

The rupee was trading at 67.03 to the dollar, down 14 paise compared with previous close.

ITC, Sun Pharma, Maruti, HUL, Cipla and Bharti gained 1-2 percent while Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Hero Motocorp and Tata Steel dropped 1-2.5 percent.