Nifty opens below 8,800; BSE Bankex down 1%

Dr Reddy's Labs, Coal India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank & HDFC are the top five Sensex losers

Markets have started the trading session on a lower note weighed down by financials ahead of the RBI monetary policy due tomorrow. Weakness among Asian peers has also weighed on the bourses.

By 9:30, the Sensex was lower by 114 points at 29,064 mark and the Nifty slipped by 24 points at 8,785.

However, broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap index is marginally negative whereas the Smallcap index is up 0.4%.

The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 656 shares advancing and 443 shares declining.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net Rs 771.55 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

On the global front, US markets dropped more than 1% with the Dow Jones down 250 points as the economic growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter.

Asian shares got off to a downbeat start on Monday, after weekend Chinese data raised concerns about growth in the world's second-largest economy.

China's factory sector unexpectedly shrank for the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years last month and firms see more gloom ahead, according to a survey released on Sunday.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.8 in January, a low last seen in September 2012 and below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down about 0.1%, while Japan's Nikkei stock average dropped 0.7% in early trade.

Back home, BSE Bankex has slipped by almost 1%. However, BSE Healthcare, Power and Realty indices are up nearly 1% each.

Rate sensitive sector like Banks are in focus ahead of the RBI monetary policy due tomorrow.

The main losers on the Sensex are Dr Reddy’s Labs, Coal India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and HUL.

HDFC Bank is likely to raise Rs 10,000 crore on Tuesday. The private lender is said to have appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to manage the share sale. The stock is down 2%.

Coal India has plunged nearly 3% after the government raised Rs 22,557.63 crore from the sale of its 10 per cent shareholding in Coal India.

On the gaining side, Sun Pharma has surged over 2.5%. The company has won US approval to buy Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd on condition that it sell its interest in a generic antibacterial medicine, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Friday.

Other notable gainers are Wipro, Cipla, M&M, Tata Power and BHEL.

Among other shares, Aarti Drugs has rallied 11% to Rs 1,335 on BSE in early morning trade after the pharmaceutical company announced an issue of bonus shares in a ratio of 1:1 and a strong set of numbers for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 (Q3).

Aviation stocks like Jet Airways and SpiceJet are up 4% each as Jet fuel (ATF) price is cut by a steep 11.3% and now costs less than diesel. Last month, its rate had fallen below the price at which petrol is sold.