Mumbai, Oct 23: The Indian stock market opened flat on Wednesday as buying was seen in the IT, financial services, FMCG and metal sectors in the early trade. 

Sensex opened at 80,151.67 with a fall of 69.05 points or 0.09 per cent while Nifty opened at 24,437.70 with a slide of 34.40 points or 0.14 per cent.

The market trend remained mixed. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,126 stocks were trading in green, while 1,170 stocks were trading in red.

Nifty Bank was at 51,313.05 after rising 56.50 points or 0.11 per cent. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 50,087.10 level after slipping 86.95 points or 0.15 per cent. At the same time, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,021.05 after slipping 39.95 points or 0.22 per cent.

Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra and TCS were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. At the same time, NTPC, Power Grid, M&M, Tata Motors and the SBI were the top losers.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong markets were trading in the green. At the same time, Jakarta, Japan and Bangkok markets were trading in the red. The US stock markets closed in the red on the last trading day.

According to market experts, "The ongoing trend of large caps outperforming mid and smallcaps is likely to sustain, going forward. FII selling and the countervailing trend of domestic institutional investors (DII) buying is likely to continue."

In the coming days the market will be looking forward to the outcome of the US presidential elections and its possible impact on the market, they said.

On Tuesday, the Indian markets saw some buying at the start of the session but failed to sustain the gains, extending selling pressure and closing on a negative note for the second consecutive day.

Looking ahead, a "sell on rise" strategy is recommended, with the 24,650 - 24,850 range considered a potential selling zone, as long as the index stays below 25,000,” said experts.

--IANS

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