Equity benchmarks started off Wednesday’s trade on a flat note after seeing correction in previous two consecutive sessions. The Sensex was up 10.15 points at 28363.69 and the Nifty up 10.95 points at 8726.55.

ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, NTPC, SBI, Hindalco, BPCL and Yes Bank were early gainers while Coal India, Adani Ports, ITC, Tata Motors, HDFC, Zee Entertainment and Bharti Infratel lost ground.

The Indian rupee opened at two weeks low at 66.99 per dollar, down 7 paise against 66.92 Monday.He expects USD-INR pair to trade in the 67-67.50/dollar range in the near term. The US dollar gained against the yen and riskier commodity currencies after the impact of dovish remarks from a top Federal Reserve official faded, boosting sentiment toward the greenback.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said the hawkish Federal Reserve speaks, increasing the probability of Fed hiking rates at its September FOMC, has sent the global markets into a tizzy.

Asian markets were mostly lower in trade today following negative lead from Wall Street, with Shanghai down 0.6 percent as uncertainty over central banks’ next moves spurred jitters.

Rear axle shafts manufacturer GNA Axles has opened its 63 lakh shares public issue for subscription today with a price band of Rs 205-207 per share.The Jalandhar-based company aims to raise maximum Rs 130 crore through public issue. Of which, it already raised Rs 37.88 crore from three mutual fund houses under its anchor investors portion on September 12.

It issued 18.3 lakh equity shares at Rs 207 per share to 3 anchor investors Reliance Small Cap Fund, UTI MF and HDFC Trustee Company.

The company intends to utilise the net issue proceeds for purchase of plant & machinery; working capital requirements; and general corporate purposes.

Sanjay Mookim of Bank of America Merrill Lynch says falling interest rates should act as a catalyst for a ‘classic’ economic recovery over time.

The effects of recently approved reforms should also be visible over a couple of years, he adds.

He says, however, Indian equity valuations have increased meaningfully on global cues, even as a recovery is tepid at best. “This drives our near-term caution. India will not be immune to global risk-off/volatility events,” he says.

He advocates sticking with quality and avoiding operational uncertainty.