Mumbai, March 13 : The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as buying was seen in the Financial Service and PSU Bank sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.31 am, Sensex was trading 61.17 points or 0.08 per cent up at 74,090.93 while the Nifty added 2.15 points or 0.01 per cent at 22,472.65

Nifty Bank was up 113.10 points or 0.24 per cent at 48,169.75. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 48,436.80 after declining 49.80 points or 0.10 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 14,981.45 after declining 62.90 points or 0.42 per cent.

According to market watchers, the Indian equity markets were expected to open on a flat to slightly bullish note, as indicated by GIFT Nifty, which was trading around 22,570 in early trades, reflecting a modest increase of 25 points.

"This suggests a cautious market sentiment, influenced by global cues and the absence of strong domestic triggers. Investors will closely monitor global trends, crude oil prices, and institutional flows to assess the market's direction," said Hardik Matalia of Choice Broking.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Zomato, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys and SBI were the top gainers. Whereas, Hindustan Unilever Limited, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement and Asian Paints were the top losers.

According to experts, given the prevailing market dynamics, traders are advised to exercise caution and wait for confirmation of price action at critical levels before initiating fresh positions.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones declined 0.20 per cent to close at 41,350.93. The S&P 500 added 0.49 per cent to 5,599.30 and the Nasdaq climbed 1.22 per cent to close at 17,648.45.

In the Asian markets, Bangkok, Japan, Seoul and Jakarta were trading in green. Whereas China, and Hong Kong were trading in red.

Regarding institutional activity, foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,627.61 crore on March 12, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 1,510.35 crore on the same day.

/IANS