The Indian equity markets opened in the red on Thursday amid mixed signals from West Asia and persistent tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Both the BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 were trading lower as investors remained cautious due to weak momentum in most Asian markets.
At 9:30 am, the Nifty 50 index opened 0.53 per cent, or 123 points, lower at 23,282.45 points compared to 23,405.60 points at the previous close.
The Sensex opened 0.54 per cent, or 410 points, down at 73,935.83 points compared to 74,346.17 points in the previous session.
The trend was evident even before the opening bell, with GIFT Nifty futures trading 0.11 per cent lower at 23,306.50 points as investors factored in geopolitical concerns and the pullback in Asian markets.
Foreign institutional investors continued their selling streak, offloading Rs 5,616.56 crore worth of equities on Wednesday.
Among the top gainers in early trade were Adani Enterprises (up 1.5 per cent), Eternal (up 1.4 per cent), Titan (up 1 per cent), Adani Ports (up 1 per cent), Tech Mahindra (up 1 per cent), and Asian Paints (up 0.8 per cent).
The top losers included Trent, Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Infosys, SBI Life Insurance, and Hindalco.