Opening Bell: Markets open higher amid cautiousness around Russia- Ukraine developments; IT index on the forefront, realty index drags

Meanwhile, on the sectoral front, BSE IT index emerged as the top gainer, up by 1.29 per cent while the other sectoral indices are trading lower with BSE Realty index and BSE Oil & Gas index declining up to 1.1 per cent each.

On Monday, despite uncertainty on the developments around Russia-Ukraine talks, the benchmark indices commenced the trading session in green. BSE Sensex gained 300 points to 55,850 level while NSE's Nifty was at 16,681 level, higher by 51 points. India VIX advanced 2.21 per cent, trading at 25.91 in the initial hour of the trading session. 

In the broader markets, at 9.48 am, BSE Midcap index traded at 23,179.98 level, down by 0.56 per cent down while BSE Smallcap index plunged 0.24 per cent to be at 27,076.19 level. 

At the time of the opening session, Sensex had HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Tech Mahindra & Wipro as the leading stocks, up between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent. On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, BPCL, and Dabur were the top losers, contracting up to 2.6 per cent. 

Among Nifty index, the top gainers were Infosys, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, SBI, and TCS. Nifty 50 top losers included Tata Motors, IOC, Hindustan Unilever, Eicher Motors, and BPCL. 

Meanwhile, on the sectoral front, BSE IT index emerged as the top gainer, up by 1.29 per cent while the other sectoral indices are trading lower with BSE Realty index and BSE Oil & Gas index declining up to 1.1 per cent each. Within BSE IT index, the top gaining stocks lifting up the index are Brightcom Group, Xelpmoc Design and Tech, Infosys, NELCO, and Mphasis.