Opening Bell: Markets open flat amid rising crude prices; oil and gas index leads among the sectors

India VIX gained over 1.2 per cent trading at 24.94 in the initial minutes of the trading session.

On Tuesday, domestic benchmark indices opened on a flat note due to rising crude oil prices as some members of the European Union were reportedly considering a ban on Russian oil. The domestic markets are being weighed down by the Russian war on Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia are agonizing over energy supplies for Europe, rising prices and path towards the economic recoveries from the pandemic.

At 09:16 am, Sensex was down 135.42 points or 0.24 per cent at 57157.07 level, and the Nifty was down 29.10 points or 0.17 per cent at 17088.50 level. About 1066 shares have advanced, 758 shares declined, and 99 shares are unchanged. India VIX gained over 1.2 per cent trading at 24.94 in the initial minutes of the trading session.

ONGC, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Wipro and Coal India were among major gainers on the Nifty, while losers were HUL, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Nestle and Britannia Industries. At 9.20 am the top gainers among the Sensex stocks consisted of Tata Steel, Wipro, TCS, Maruti Suzuki and Tech Mahindra whereas top losers included Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Ultratech Cement, Asian Paints and Axis Bank.

In the broader markets, at 9.45 am, BSE Midcap index traded at 23,482.81 level, 0.76 per cent down while BSE Smallcap index at 27,731.13 level, 0.29 per cent lower. In the BSE Midcap index, the top gaining stocks outperforming the index were Oil India, Indian Hotels Company, Ruchi Soya, Sun TV Network and Varun Beverages whereas in BSE Smallcap index, KSB, NIIT, Jindal Drilling and Industries, Ratnamani Metals and Tubes and Dharamsi Morarji Chemical and Co.

On the sectoral front, energy, metals and oil and gas indices were at the lead gaining up to 1.4 per cent. On the flip side, BSE Realty and BSE Consumer Durables indices were the top losing indices trading 2 per cent down as compared to other sectoral indices.