Opening Bell: Markets open in red; power, utilities and IT indices gain up to 2 per cent

India VIX, the fear gauge of domestic markets, was seen moving higher on Tuesday to 36 levels.

The Indian markets opened in the red as benchmarks declined in the opening trade, on the back of developments related to the Russia-Ukraine war and soaring oil prices since the conflict started.  

The lower opening was consistent with the SGX Nifty as the Futures index traded 115 points lower to 15,727.50 at 9 am on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, domestic equity benchmarks Nifty50 and the Sensex opened at 15,747.75 level and 52,430.06 level dragged by auto and banking stocks.  

In the broader markets, at 9.56 am, the BSE Midcap index was trading at 22,215.24, up by 0.48 per cent and BSE Smallcap index was at 25,916.47, 0.92 per cent higher. Similarly, Nifty Midcap 100 was at 27,110.05 up by 0.89 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 was at 9,694.05, gaining 1.60 per cent. 

The top gaining stocks within Sensex are NTPC, TCS, Power Grid Corporation, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. On the flip side, the top losers are Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Asian Paints.

Among the Nifty gainers, other than the stocks similar to the ones gaining in the Sensex pack, the other gainers are BPCL, Cipla, HDFC Life, Adani Ports and Tata Consumer. The top losing stocks dragging the Nifty 50 index are Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank.

India VIX, the fear gauge of domestic markets, was seen moving higher on Tuesday to 36 levels.

The top trending stocks on BSE, this morning comprised SBI, Tata Steel, TCS, Reliance and Infosys.

Talking about the sectoral indices metal index plunged more than 2 per cent. On the other hand, power and IT indices along with utilities traded 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent higher catching the limelight.