The Aussie was ailing at a three-month low of $0.7046 , having broken support at $0.7050. It shed 5.7% last month as fears of a recession in Europe and lockdowns in China undermined risk assets. The kiwi dollar was pinned at its lowest since mid-2020 at $0.6448, having lost 6.9% in April. It now risks a further decline to support around $0.6200.

The board of NCL Research and Financial will meet today to consider a rights issue. The meeting was earlier adjourned due to delay in processing of documents. The board of Panchsheel Organics will consider a preferential issue of shares in a meeting today.

​​Earlier, the government decided to reduce the valuation of LIC of India while downsizing the share sale. "Investors drew confidence after such reduction, as they are keen to bet," said head of a mutual fund house. An individual can apply for shares up to Rs 2 lakh. The minimum benchmark is set at Rs 25,000 crore.

Fino Paytech, the holding company and 75% owner of Fino Payments Bank, has voted against a resolution to re-appoint chairman and independent director Mahendra Kumar Chouhan and Puneeta Kumar Sinha, another independent director, on Saturday.

The Gurgaon-based startup held a board meeting on Saturday to discuss whether it should go ahead with the IPO this month. The board cleared the plan and the offer is likely to launch after the LIC IPO subscription window closes on May 9, said sources aware of the matter.

What is significant is that the country’s markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has not given a nod to most of these companies despite them having filed their IPO documents more than four-five months ago.

Mostly, wealthy individuals and brokers participate in grey market trades. They started taking interest after the valuation of the insurance behemoth was cut. The grey market premium is likely to rise further in the next few days before the issue opens on March 4, said dealers.

"The bulk maturities are a natural blessing for sovereign borrowing in a year that is set to see record G-sec sales," said Naveen Singh, head of trading at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership.

Participants should prefer option strategies like put spread to play the impending correction in the index. However, the movement on the sectoral front is mixed and the ongoing earnings season is further adding to the choppiness. Among the sectoral indices, auto and FMCG look promising while IT and banking are likely to underperform.

Paytm Money, the latest entrant into the broking business, has placed QR codes at Kirana stores across the country to introduce the common man to the power of investing with free demat accounts for a lifetime. Through the QR codes, individuals can open their free demat accounts instantly and place their bids for the LIC IPO.