Global markets edge lower; will Nifty follow suit?

The Wall Street edged lower after dismal GDP data and as the Federal Reserve continued its commitment to massive economic stimulus. The European markets see their biggest intra-day drop this month.

Asian markets kick off trade today in the red. At 7: 54 am (IST), Asian markets were trading lower. China's Shanghai Composite was flat at 2,382.73.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.53% or 126.18 points at 23,695.88.  Japan's Nikkei shed 0.66% or 72.92 points at 11,041.03. Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.20% or 6.72 points at 3,279.18. 

South Korea's Seoul Composite was down 0.25% or 5 points at 1,959.43. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was down 0.25% or 19.37 points at 7,813.61. 

Key equity benchmarks continued to trade within a tight range, ending Wednesday's trade marginally in the green. The BSE Sensex gained 0.07 percent, while the 50-share Nifty rose 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile in other asset classes, the rupee strengthened to its highest level in 3 months. It ended the day at 53.3 due to some strong equity inflows. In precious metals, gold is trading around USD 1677 an ounce.

Earnings Central

A CNBC-TV18 poll sees ICICI Bank reporting a 20% jump in profit & stable NIMS at 3% but provisions could be higher.

Asset quality remains the key concern for Punjab National Bank with the profits expected to dip 4%.

Siemens & Mahindra Satyam will also announce their numbers today.

Stocks in news

The Oil India stake sale has received the stamp of approval from the empowered group of ministers. The EGoM has approved the sale of 10 percent stake in Oil India via offer for sale on February 1.

The government expects to raise close to Rs 2,500-3,000 crore and the floor price would be notified today. So far the government has raised around Rs 7,000 crores via divesting stake in Hindustan Copper & N-M-D-C.

The country's largest bank, State Bank of India has acknowledged the RBI's signal and cut base rate by 5 basis points. So from February 4, State Bank of India's base rate, or the minimum rate of lending, will stand at 9.7 percent. SBI said that through this rate cut, they are passing on more than what they have gained.