Asian markets are lower today as Japanese and Hong Kong shares fall. The Nikkei 225 is off 0.45%, while the Hang Seng is down 0.19%. The Shanghai Composite is trading down by 0.31%. Stock markets in the US and Europe ended their previous session on a weak note.

Meanwhile, share markets in India have opened the trading day on a flattish note ahead of the monetary policy review. The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 13 points while the NSE Nifty is trading flat. The BSE Mid Cap index and BSE Small Cap index have opened the day up by 0.1% & 0.4% respectively.

The rupee is trading at 67.20 to the US$. Sectoral indices have opened the day on a mixed note with auto and banking stocks witnessing selling pressure. While, healthcare and FMCG stocks are among the top gainers on the BSE.

Banking stocks have opened the day on a mixed note. Dhanlaxmi bank and J&K bank are the most active stocks in this space. According to an article in Livemint, IDFC Bank has picked up a 5% stake IIFL Holdings for over Rs 5 billion through an open market transaction. The shares were purchased on an average price of Rs 317.

According to bulk deal data available with the BSE, IDFC Bank purchased 15,853,000 shares, amounting to 4.99% stake, of IIFL Holdings. Reportedly, JP Morgan held a 5.13% stake in IIFL through an investment vehicle, Copthall Mauritius Investment Ltd.

Notably, IDFC Bank has been aggressively picking up stakes in financial services companies after securing a banking licence. It has so far bought into Grama Vidiyal Microfinance, Suryoday Small Finance Bank Ltd and ASA International India Microfinance Pvt Ltd.

On the other hand, IIFL has attracted several marquee investors in recent years. In July last year, CDC Group Plc, the UK government-owned development finance institution, invested Rs 10 billion (US$150 million) in IIFL Holdings.