Sensex, Nifty open marginally lower; ONGC, Cairn rally

Moneycontrol Bureau9:50 am IPO: The company behind Cafe Coffee Day, India's biggest coffee chain, will launch an initial public offering next week, aiming to raise up to USD 176 million in the country's biggest IPO in nearly three years. India has seen fewer IPOs in the last few years because of volatile markets and slowing economic growth, and the response of foreign and local investors to this offering will be a test of appetite for new issues in the current unsettled climate. Indian companies have raised about USD 1.1 billion via IPOs so far this year, higher than USD 223 million for all of last year and USD 285 million in 2013, but much lower than USD 3.5 billion raised in 2010, according to Thomson Reuters data.9:40 am Buzzing: Shares of Torrent Pharmaceuticals gained 2 percent on getting tentative approval from US Food and Drug Administration for Olmesartan Medoxomil.
Olmesartan Medoxomil is used for the treatment of high blood pressure. The drug was developed by Sankyo (now known as Daiichi Sankyo).9:30 am IMF's chopping act: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed the global gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the year from 3.3 percent to 3.1 percent, it said in its World Economic Outlook 2015 report it released today. The fund, however, expects global growth to pick up to 3.6 percent next year. It also cut India's 2015 GDP growth forecast from 7.5 percent to 7.3 percent. This is lower than the 7.6 percent growth forecast put out by the government and the 7.4 percent by the Reserve Bank of India.Don't miss: Investors worry about Gujarat plant but Maruti Suzuki up 98% in 16 months

The market has opened marginally lower amid consolidation on Wednesday. The Sensex declined 34.01 points to 26898.87 and the Nifty fell 13.40 points to 8139.50. About 431 shares have advanced, 175 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Cairn India and ONGC rallied 2-3 percent. Lupin, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Cipla, Asian Paints and Maruti Suzuki were other leading gainers. Tata Steel, Wipro, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, HCL Tech and ACC fell 0.5-1 percent.The Indian rupee has gained 11 paise in the early trade today. It has opened at 65.30 per dollar against previous close of 65.41.NS Venkatesh of IDBI Bank said, "The rupee weakened against the dollar breaking a 6-day gaining streak. The rupee depreciation was mainly on account of dollar demand by state-owned banks for meeting import demand."According to him, the rupee today is expected to trade within a narrow range of 65.35-65.50/dollar.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks held firm today as a sharp rebound in oil prices supported battered resource shares and emerging economy currencies.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.2 percent, led by a 0.4 percent rise in South Korea.

Stocks in the United States closed mixed overnight, stabilizing after a sharp two-day rally, as investors awaited the official beginning of the third-quarter earnings season. However, the country's trade deficit for the month of August came in at USD 48.3 billion, the widest in five months.

Yen nursed losses against most of its peers and is likely to stay on the defensive in case the Bank of Japan surprises by injecting fresh stimulus after its policy review later in the day. Dollar too traded soft.