It seems to be a profit taking day as May F&O series expires today. The Sensex is down 168.44 points at 24387.65, and the Nifty is down 42.65 points at 7287.00. About 1123 shares have advanced, 1195 sharemarkets declined, and 88 shares are unchanged. Dragged by slump in Infosys, IT index crashed 3 percent while only Healthcare is in green. Bharti Airtel, Tata Power, GAIL and HDFC are top gainers in the Sensex.

The rupee is up in early trade as exporters and FIIs sell dollars. Buying by PSU banks stems dollar losses. Indian bond yields move lower partly in sympathy with US and global yields but bond prices are unlikely to rise much ahead of auctions tomorrow. Euro weakened against the dollar to slip below the USD 1.36 mark on indications that the European Central Bank was inclined towards monetary stimulus measures and could announce more measures when it meets next week.

Gold prices continue to hover near 15-week lows. Following a statement from Russia that it will respect the Ukrainian election outcome and its new president, concerns of escalating violence have eased and increased risk appetite globally. Meanwhile, it is a quiet session of trade across Asian markets. Marginal declines seen in Kospi and Taiwan, while Hang Seng is up half a percent. Nikkei recovers 0.75 percent from lows on speculation that the Bank of Japan would need to undertake further monetary easing measures to ensure Japan meets its inflation target.