Markets see a quiet opening

The markets have opened on a quiet note tracking global cues. The Sensex has slipped 20 points at 17,297. Nifty is down 11 points at 5,263.

Renewed concerns about China's economic growth weighed on global stocks on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 0.5 per cent at 13,170, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.3 per cent to 1,405 levels.

Japan's Nikkei average slipped 0.3 per cent on Wednesday and the broader Topix index declined 0.5 per cent to 865.

BSE IT index has moved up 0.5% at 6,016 on a declining rupee. The rupee dropped for a second day, Tuesday on speculation that importers stepped up dollar purchases to meet payments before the March 31 financial year-end.

Mahindra Satyam is up 0.6% and Tech Mahindra has gained 2% respectively. The boards of Satyam Computer Services and Tech Mahindra have just announced a merger. The swap ratio has been fixed at 8.5 Satyam shares for every Tech Mahindra Share.

Consumer durables and healthcare indices have also moved up. Meanwhile, metal shares have slipped 0.4% at 11,421. Power, realty and auto share shares have slipped.

TCS has gained 1.2% at Rs 1,149. Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC have advanced less than a per cent in opening trades.

Meanwhile, Hindalco has slipped 2% to Rs 136. Sterlite , Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Jindal Steel have shed 1-2% each.

Realty major Godrej Properties has fixed the price band at Rs 575 - 620 per share for its proposed issue of shares through private placement and will raise up to Rs 508 crore at the upper band. Shares of Godrej Properties is down 2% at Rs 620.

Kingfisher Airlines got another reprieve on Tuesday, as the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) decided not to suspend its operations. The stock is up 1.8% at Rs 19.40.

The Australian government’s move to impose 30 per cent tax on coal mining and iron ore profits might not affect any Indian investment in that country immediately, but could have an impact on Indian companies, including Coal India, which are scouting for assets Down Under. The stock is marginally up at Rs 329.