Even if inflation picks up in September as economists predict, it would still be comfortably below the RBI's 6 per cent target for January.

Yum posted its third straight quarter of sales declines in India, where analysts say it is being outpaced by ambitious rivals like Domino's Pizza Inc and McDonald's Corp.

The domestic markets fell on emergence of selling in FMCG, banking, capital goods and healthcare stocks amid mixed Asian cues.

The rupee appreciated marginally by 0.09 per cent in the last fortnight after the RBI gave permission to the corporates to raise funds from overseas market in rupee denominated bonds.

The rupee on Wednesday recuperated by 46 paise on fresh selling of the American currency by banks and exporters on persistent foreign capital inflows into domestic equities.

The Nikkei Business Activity Index, also fell from 51.8 in August to 51.3 in September as \"tough economic conditions weighed on growth\".

According to the global financial services firm, the central bank is likely to hold the pause button in its December policy meet.

This comes a day after Reserve Bank revised downwards its real GDP forecast for 2015-16 to 7.4 per cent from earlier expectation of 7.6 per cent, saying growth is expected to pick up in the latter part of the fiscal.

RBI's Raghuram Rajan justified the big rate cut saying that the consumer inflation was likely to be at 5.8%, below the 6% target for January.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan surprised with a 50 basis points cut in the repo rate from 7.25 per cent to 6.75 per cent. The expectations in the market was for a quarter basis points. 

Raghuram Rajan said, \"RBI stance will continue to be accomodative but at the same time vigilant. Policy growth has to be steady and predicatable.\"

Most bankers feel that benign inflation and status quo by US Fed have given room for the RBI to cut short-term lending (repo) rate by at least 0.25 per cent to 7 per cent.

According to experts, there are positive developments on all the four points raised by RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan two months ago.

According to SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya, there is a space for rate cut as the possibility of food prices going up in coming months is negligible.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to cut interest rates for the fourth time this year as falling energy prices have cooled inflation and the economy has slowed, according to the poll.

\"Meeting was good and cordial. I cannot talk about the details but discussed a number of issues,\" RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said after nearly one-hour long discussion with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.

Global equity markets remained under pressure owing to number of global developments that prompted the traders to place safe bets.

Going ahead, the trend in the Indian equity market will be dictated by foreign flows and the development in the international market, writes Mahesh Nayak.

With annual inflation continuing to fall  at (-)4.95 per cent in August based on WPI and 3.66 per cent at retail levels - the clamour for a rate cut by the RBI has become sharper.

The distinguishing feature of this year's drought is the extent to which rainfall has varied across states. The IMD's data between June 1 and September 9 this year shows the rainfall has so far been 15 per cent below the LPA in the country.