Mumbai:

Indian equity indices opened on a flat note on Tuesday following mixed global cues and geo-political tensions.

At 9:18 am, Sensex was down 11 points at 80,785 and Nifty was down 8 points at 24,452.

Selling was seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was down 126 points or 0.23 per cent at 54,548 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was down 61 points or 0.37 per cent at 16,547.

From a technical perspective, the Nifty 50 continues to trade in a narrow consolidation range, forming a neutral candlestick pattern on the daily chart, said experts.

“A decisive move above 24,500 could pave the way for an up move towards 24,700 and 24,800. On the downside, support is seen at 24,200 and 24,000, where traders may find buying opportunities on dips,” said Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking.

On the sectoral front, auto, FMCG and private bank were major gainers. Pharma, realty, and media were major laggards.

In the Sensex pack, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Nestle, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, HUL, L&T, IndusInd Bank and ITC were top gainers. Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Titan, Eternal, SBI, TCS, Bajaj Finance and Ultratech cement were major laggards.

Most Asian stock markets were trading in the green. Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading with gains as optimism over potential US-China trade talks boosted investors’ sentiment.

Other major regional markets, including Japan and South Korea, remained shut due to public holidays. Meanwhile, US markets closed in the red in the last trading session.

On the institutional front, FIIs continued their buying streak on May 5 with net equity purchases of Rs 497 crore, while DIIs remained strong buyers, investing Rs 2,788 crore.

This sustained inflow from both domestic and foreign investors reflects underlying market confidence, despite global uncertainties, said experts.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)