Sensex, Nifty edge lower in opening trade

New Delhi: The BSE benchmark Sensex quoted lower in opening trade on Monday in line with global markets.

The 30-share index slipped by 77.61 points, or 0.23 percent, to 33,607.95 after moving in range of 33,710.15 and 33,588.37.

The 50-share NSE Nifty also dropped 33.60 points, or 0.32 percent to 10,418.90. The gauge had touched an intra-day high of 10,461.70 on Friday.

Sectoral indices led by metal, oil & gas, banking, teck and PSU were trading in the red, falling up to 0.95 percent.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 9,690.84 crore on Friday, according to provisional data released by stock exchanges.

Laggards that pulled down the key indices from record were Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Asian paint, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, NTPC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's, L&T, Infosys and Tata Motors with losses of up to 2.24 percent.

ONGC, Mahindra and Mahindra and Adani Ports rose up to 1.69 percent. Gains of up to 1 percent in HDFC Bank, ITC and Hindustan Unilever capped the Sensex losses.

Other Asian markets were mixed with Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropping 1.13 percent while Japan's Nikkei moving up by 0.05 percent in early trade. The Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.18 percent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.10 percent higher in Friday's trade.