The key Indian stock indices are trading nearly unchanged in the afternoon trade, as investors turn cautious after the recent rally in light of important upcoming events - both domestic and global. Weakness in major Asian markets and the overnight fall in the European markets are also weighing on the Indian markets today. Investors across the globe are awaiting the outcome of Thursday's policy meetings in Europe and the UK. Friday's monthly jobs report in the US will also be tracked closely amid growing speculation about QE3 from the Federal Reserve.

At 12:47Pm (IST), the BSE Sensex was at 17,488, up 25 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day’s high of 17,505 and aday’s low of 17,423.It opened at 17,478.

NSE Nifty was quoting at 5,308, up 6 points over the previous close. It earlier touched a day’s high of 5,312 and a day’s low of 5,288. It opened at 5,297.

Infosys, Tata Motors, Tata Power, M&M, SAIL,HUL, ,ITC are among the top gainers in Sensex and Nifty.

Wipro, TCS, Tata Power, DLF, Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, ONGC, Dr Reddys Lab, Bajaj Auto, L&T.are among the notable losers in Sensex and Nifty.

The BSE Small-Cap index and BSE Mid-Cap index was trading up at 1%.

FMCG, HC,Power, Oil and Gas, Consumer Durables indices were the leading gainers.

 Auto,Metal, PSU, Teck, IT, Capital Goods, Bankex, Realty indices is only the loser.

The broader indices are once again out-performing the Large-Cap indices - as has been the case in the past few sessions. Therefore, the advance-decline ratio on the BSE is positive. The ratio of rising and falling stocks on the Sensex and the Nifty is not favourable for the bulls while the INDIA VIX on the NSE is up ~1%.

Capital Goods, FMCG, Power, Pharma and Auto indices are among the leading winners in the key indices so far. Teck, IT, Realty and PSU indices are the notable losers. The remaining sectoral indices on the BSE are muted.

The rupee fell sharply against the US dollar on Thursday, extending a fall from the previous session, as the euro lost some ground ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) policy meeting and weaker Asian shares.

Weak investor response at an auction for debt limits for foreign institutional investors (FII) on Wednesday also weighed on the sentiment, dealers said.

The rupee today breached the 55-level again due to increased demand for the greenback from
banks and importers.

At 12:51 pm (IST), the rupee was at 55.04 versus the dollar after being as low as 55.06 and as high as 54.79. It opened at 54.80.

The rupee had lost 11 paise to close at 54.49 yesterday.

Global funds bought Rs. 402.50bn (US$7.3bn) of allocations for purchasing local-currency debt, according to reports. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) aimed to sell Rs. 599bn of the quota.

A stronger interest from FIIs in India's sovereign and corporate debt would have benefited the rupee.

European stock markets largely held steady at open today. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was flat, with oil, drug and food stocks down and auto shares up. Main stock indices in Germany, the UK and France too were more or less flat.

Asian stock indices closed mixed as investors remained wary of deteriorating global economic backdrop ahead of the policy announcements by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BOE) later on Thursday.

The Nikkei in Japan was down 0.3% while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.2%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was up 0.5% while the Kospi in South Korea and the S&P/ASX 200 index finished flat.

US financial markets were closed on Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday.

The ECB is expected to cut its main refinancing rate to a record low below 1% at its policy meeting on Thursday. Money market traders are evenly split on whether the ECB will cut the deposit rate.

Few expect the ECB to resume the bank's bond-buy plan to help debt-laden countries to curtail their borrowing costs.

The BOE's Monetary Policy Committee will raise its target for bond purchases by £50bn (US$79bn) to £375bn tomorrow, according to economists.

The US Labor Department's non-farm payrolls data due on Friday will also have a bearing on the world markets.

Employers in the world’s biggest economy are expected to have increased payrolls by 90,000 workers in June after a 69,000 gain in May, according to the median estimate.

The yen weakened against most major peers as Japan signaled further monetary easing. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will use monetary policy to ensure financial stability, Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said today. The yen traded weaker than 80 versus the dollar for the first time since June 25.

The Philippine peso rose toward a four-year high after a Standard & Poor’s upgrade.

The Philippine peso strengthened 0.3% to 41.69 per dollar in Manila, near a four-year high of 41.60 reached yesterday. The nation’s long-term foreign currency-denominated debt was increased one level to BB+ from BB, S&P said in a statement yesterday.

That is one step below investment grade and on a par with neighboring Indonesia.