Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Monday, amid mixed global cues and the absence of strong domestic triggers, with broad-based selling across all sectors, except PSU banks. 

As of 9.25 am, the Sensex was down 220 points, or 0.26 per cent at 83,718 and the Nifty was down 42 points, or 0.17 per cent at 25,679.

The broadcap indices outperformed benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 up 0.21 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 0.63 per cent.

SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and ONGC were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and Titan Company.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty PSU Bank, the top gainer, added 1.76 per cent. Nifty Metal (up 0.52 per cent) and Nifty Media (up 0.39 per cent) were other major gainers. Nifty Consumer Durables was the major loser, down 0.83 per cent, while FMCG and IT lost 0.35 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.

Analysts said that profit booking and FIIs again turning sellers prevented continuation of the rally to record highs.

Since the FII strategy of selling in India on rallies and moving money to other better-performing markets has paid them rich dividends, they can be expected to continue the same strategy now also, according to them. A smart turnaround in India’s corporate earnings can reverse the scenario.

Analysts also noted the sustained demand for automobiles, particularly small cars, turning out to be better than the optimistic expectations.

They added that immediate support is placed at 25,600–25,500, while resistance lies at 25,800–26,000.

Meanwhile, the US markets ended in the green zone on Friday, as Nasdaq added 0.61 per cent, the S&P 500 moved up 0.26 per cent, and the Dow added 0.09 per cent.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session on Monday. While China’s Shanghai index slipped 0.08 per cent, and Shenzhen lost 1.21 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 2.12 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.23 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.27 per cent.

During the last trading day on Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 6,769 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities for the seventh straight session, purchasing shares worth Rs 7,068 crore.