Rupee trading higher. The pair is at 53.09/11 versus 53.155/165 on Wednesday.

The BSE Sensex is down 0.3 percent in opening trades.

Provisional figures show foreign funds bought $213.79 million of equities on Wednesday, ahead of NTPC's share sale.

The floor price for state-run power utility NTPC's share sale, scheduled for Thursday, has been set at 145 rupees, or a 4.5 percent discount to its Wednesday's close, said the company, valuing the sale at about $2.14 billion.

Advance GDP estimates for 2012/13 will be watched for any greenshoots in the economy after recent reform steps.

The rupee will strengthen slightly over the next 12 months, building on recent gains following a series of reforms by the government aimed at bringing its finances under control, a Reuters poll showed.