Mumbai, April 9 : The Indian equity markets opened on a cautious note on Thursday after witnessing a sharp rally in the previous session. Benchmark indices declined amid investor concerns over escalating geopolitical tensions, as reports suggested that Israel had attacked Lebanonâ??s Hezbollah, raising fears of a possible disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

Sensex traded 560 points or 0.72 per cent lower at 77,003, hitting an intra-day low in early trade, while Nifty fell as much as 182 points or 0.75 per cent to 23,815, also logging an intra-day low. Sectorally, IT, realty, banking, and auto stocks were among the top laggards, declining up to 1 per cent.

Among the Nifty pack, Infosys, Shriram Finance, HCL Tech, Bajaj Finance, IndiGo, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, and M&M were the top losers.

According to analysts, traders should adopt a cautious approach, prefer a â??buy on dipsâ?? strategy near support levels, and avoid aggressive long positions at higher levels.

â??This ongoing divergence between foreign and domestic flows continues to play a key role in market stability,â?? they added.

Analysts further noted that India VIX cooled sharply to around 19.69, indicating a decline in volatility, although markets may still witness intraday swings.

Institutional flows continue to reflect divergence. On Wednesday, FIIs remained net sellers to the tune of approximately Rs 2,812 crore, while DIIs continued their strong buying with inflows of around Rs 4,168 crore.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures surged as much as 3.31 per cent to $97.89 per barrel at 9:06 a.m. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $98.38, up 4.2 per cent from the previous close.

Asian stocks also traded lower, with the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and KOSPI down 0.77 per cent, 0.17 per cent, and over 1 per cent, respectively.

In the US, Wall Street ended higher, with major indices finishing more than 2 per cent up.

/IANS