Markets also drifted lower following Asian peers, as shares fell after Federal Reserves minutes of meeting failed to hint on further easing to boost a sagging economy. The Sensex was trading at 17,269 points, lower by 220 points. The Nifty was seen trading lower by 63 points at 5,242 points at 9.30 am IST.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.67%, China's Shanghai Composite was down by 0.28%, while the Hang Seng index was lower by 1.61%.

On Wednesday, Sensex ended lower on profit booking and fears that deficient monsoons could further bring down growth rates and increase inflation.

Shares of the Infosys plunged more than 9% as its profit after tax figures for the first quarter disappointed the streets. The PAT came in at Rs 2289 crores, against analysts expectations of around Rs 2,450 crores.

Among the shares that gained ground in morning trade were Maruti Suzuki, BPCL, Cipla, and Grasim.

Stocks that failed to lure investors in early trade were Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Mahindra and Mahindra.

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