The main Indian stock indices have slipped in early morning trade, with the NSE Nifty barely holding on to the 5200 mark and the BSE Sensex losing nearly 100 points. The rupee has slipped below the 53 per dollar mark, hitting a four-month low against the greenback as the widening trade and current account deficits weigh on the Indian currency.

At 9:16am ( IST), the BSE Sensex was 17,224 down 77 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day’s high of 17,721 and aday’s low of 17,207. It opened at 17,271.

NSE Nifty was quoting 5,206 down 32  points over the previous close.It has earlier touched a day’s high of 5,217 and a day’s low of 5,203. It opened at 5211.

Infosys,Wipro,Cipla, BHEL were among the notable leaders in the Sensex and the Nifty.

DLF, Tata Power, Tata Steel, NTPC, Ranbaxy, Coal India, ONGC, L&T, Bharti Airtel, were among the notable losers in the Sensex and the Nifty

The BSE Small-Cap was trading flat., while BSE Mid-Cap index was trading down 0.11%.

Consumer Durables indices is only the gainer.

Power, Bankex, Teck, IT, FMCG,  HC, Realty,Metal , Auto, Oil and Gas, Power, Consumer Goods, PSU indices are the losers.

Most sectoral indices are in the red, led by Auto, Realty, PSU Banks, Power, Metals, Oil & Gas, Banking and Capital Goods indices. Only the Consumer Durables index on the BSE is in the positive territory.

The broader indices too are more or less subdued while the INDIA VIX is up more than 2%.

The undercurrent is weak today after data out of the US and Europe showed higher-than-expected levels of unemployment and deeper contraction in the eurozone's manufacturing sector. China's service sector output has also come in lower than estimate.

Global markets will be closely watching the ECB policy meeting later today and US non-farm payrolls report on Friday for further cues on the health of the global economy.

The Government appears to be in a conciliatory mood. Reports suggest it could settle the tax row with Vodafone by waiving penalty. This will be a positive development if indeed it happens. The next on the FII watch list is the GAAR proposal, which will be taken up by the parliament next week along with the Finance Bill.

Meanwhile, the renewed weakness in the rupee is eroding FII investments in shares and debt. FIIs turned net sellers in April after a strong first quarter mainly due to the controversy over GAAR provisions and Vodafone tax disputes. The sentiment towards Indian markets will improve if the two thorny tax issues are addressed amicably.

The slightly lower start today was on account of sluggish global cues. US stocks recovered from session lows, but European indices slipped on downbeat data. All eyes will be on the ECB policy meet later today. Asian markets are mostly in red.

Banks are in focus after the RBI announced guidelines on implementation of Basel III capital rules. Sugar counters have advanced after the Government removed the cap on exports.

The Indian markets failed to capitalize on a positive start on Wednesday, as renewed selling pressure near 5280 levels dragged the Nifty below 5250 levels. Every rise has been met with distribution at higher levels and a move below 5120 could lead to further selling in the near term.

Key Results Today: Aventis Pharma, Finolex Cables, Great Eastern Shipping, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Ingersoll Rand India, KEC International, Marico, NDTV, Piramal Healthcare and Nitco.

Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 2.37bn in the cash segment on Wednesday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 711.2mn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.

The FIIs were net buyers of Rs 1.48bn in the F&O segment on Wednesday, according to the provisional NSE data.

The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs 5.40bn in the cash segment on Monday, according to the SEBI figures.

Global Data Watch: UK Nationwide Housing Prices (Apr), UK Purchasing Manager Index Services (Apr), EU Producer Price Index (Mar), ECB Interest Rate Decision, ECB President Draghi’s speech, US Initial Jobless Claims (Apr 28), US Continuing Jobless Claims (Apr 21), US Nonfarm Productivity (Q1), US Unit Labor costs (Q1), US ISM Non-Manufacturing (Apr), US Fed’s William Dudley’s speech, US Fed’s Lockhart’s speech and US Philadelphia Fed’s Plosser’s speech.