Mumbai, Aug 29 : The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally higher on Friday, as the markets strive to overcome the impact of steep tariffs imposed by the US.

The Nifty 50 rose by 36 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 24,537 in early morning trade. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex gained 118 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 80,199.

BSE Midcap and smallcap indices were trading flat. Among sectors, FMCG index was up 1.59 per cent, while the auto index was down 0.84 per cent. Nifty Provate bank was up 0.43 per cent.

Among the Nifty pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Trent, HUL, Tata Steel, TCS and Asian Paints were among major gainers. The major laggards were Shriram Finance, Apollo Hospitals, Titan Company, L&T, ICICI Bank.

Analysts said that Nifty has formed a strong bearish candle on the daily chart, highlighting continued selling pressure.

'Technically, a decisive move above 24,700 could open the way toward 24,850 and 25,000 zones, while immediate support is placed at 24,337, followed by the 200-day EMA at 24,260'levels that may attract fresh long positions," said Amruta Shinde from Choice Equity Broking.

Analysts believe that the 50 per cent tariff imposed on India by US, which has already gone into effect, will have an impact on market sentiment in the near term. However, the market is unlikely to panic because it will see the high tariffs as a short-term aberration that will be resolved soon.

"The market's negative sentiments, triggered by the 50 per cent Trump tariff and India's high valuations, have encouraged FIIs to increase their short positions. If a quick positive decision on tariff policy is made, sentiments can shift and short covering may occur," said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

The policy initiatives in India ' the fiscal stimulus through the budget, the monetary stimulus through rate cuts, and the coming GST rationalisation ' should revive economic growth and corporate earnings in the coming quarters, leading to a rally in the market supported by market fundamentals, he added.

The US markets inched up overnight, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.16 per cent, while the Nasdaq advanced by 0.53 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 0.32 per cent.

The Asian markets traded mixed in the morning session, breaking ranks from Wall Street peers as investors assessed a slew of economic data in the region. Core consumer prices in Tokyo rose at a slower pace in August. The unemployment rate also eased to 2.3 per cent in July, down from 2.5 per cent the previous month.

China's Shanghai index was flat with 0.07 per cent uptick, while Shenzen added 0.81 per cent. Japan's Nikkei was down 0.43 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.76 per cent and South Korea's Kospi shed 0.12 per cent.

On Thursday, foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree for the fourth straight day, offloading equities worth Rs 3,856 crore. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) remained net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 6,920 crore.

/IANS