MARKETS LIVE: Indices trim losses, Nifty above 10,950; rupee breaches 73/$

The benchmark indices trimmedd some of their morning losses and are now trading marginally lower amid a weak rupee which slipped below 73 per dollar mark for the first time to hit an all-time low of 73.34 in intraday deals.

The Indian currency dropped to a record low in opening deals on Wednesday as a sharp rise in global crude oil prices over the last two sessions weighed on sentiment for the local unit.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty Auto index has slipped over 1.5 per cent weighed by losses in the shares of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Maruti Suzuki.

RBI monetary policy

Going ahead, investors will keep a close watch on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) decision on key interest rates. The RBI's monetary policy committee will start its three-day meeting from Wednesday to decide on the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy. After two successive hikes, the repo-rate currently stands at 6.50 per cent.

Global Markets

Asian shares ticked lower on Wednesday and the euro held at six-week lows as Italy’s mounting debt and Rome’s budget plan set it on a collision course with the European Union.

Investors remained jittery even as a new US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement appeared to ease global trade tensions. A controversial clause in the trilateral pact put the focus back on the Sino-US tariff dispute.

Japan's Nikkei eased 0.1 per cent on a stronger yen while South Korea's KOSPI index slipped 1.3 per cent.

China’s financial markets are closed for the National Day holiday and will resume trade on October 8. The markets in the world’s second-biggest economy have taken a hammering this year as investors fretted the trade dispute could put a significant dent on growth.