Nifty Seen Opening Below 17,500; Wipro, Lupin In Focus

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1,553 crore on Friday while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,398 crore.

The Indian equity benchmarks are set to open sharply lower as indicated by the Nifty futures traded on the Singapore Exchange. Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty futures fell 0.9 per cent or 161 points to 17,441 indicating that Nifty may open below its important psychological level of 17,500 amid weak cues from other Asian markets. Asian shares slid and the dollar held firm on Monday ahead of a week packed with no less than a dozen central bank meetings, highlighted by the Federal Reserve which is likely to take another step toward tapering.

Holidays in Japan, China and South Korea made for thin conditions, and politics added extra uncertainty with elections in Canada and Germany bookending the week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid another 1.4 per cent, after shedding 2.5 per cent last week, with Australia down 1.5 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei was shut, but futures were 400 points below the Friday cash close. The market could do with consolidating after surging to 30-year highs on hopes a new Prime Minister will bring more stimulus and policy change.