Mumbai, Feb 13 : The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday amid mixed global clues as buying was seen in the PSU bank and financial service sectors.

At around 9.45 am, the Sensex was trading 244.25 points or 0.32 per cent up at 76,415.33 while the Nifty climbed 79.25 points or 0.34 per cent at 23,124.50.

On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,528 stocks were trading in green, while 781 stocks were in red.

Nifty Bank was up 85.65 points or 0.17 per cent at 49,565.10. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 50,791.95 after climbing 35.55 points or 0.07 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15,995.25 after dropping 37.75 points or 0.24 per cent.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Zomato, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, Bajaj Finance, ITC, Infosys, Tata Steel, SBI and ICICI Bank were the top gainers. Titan, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, IndusInd Bank and NTPC were the top losers.

Dow Jones declined 0.50 per cent to close at 44,368.56. The S&P 500 dropped 0.27 per cent to 6,051.97 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.03 per cent to close at 19,649.95 in the last trading session.

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

In terms of institutional activity, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling equities on February 12, offloading equities worth Rs 4,969.30 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided support by purchasing equities worth Rs 5,929.24 crore on the same day.

On Wednesday, the Indian equity markets experienced a turbulent session marked by high volatility. However, a strong rebound from the intraday low of 22798 pared down the initial losses, leading to a modest recovery and a subdued close for the Nifty.

'On the technical front, 22900-22800 seems to act as a support zone, while any further correction is likely to disrupt the short-term technical structure. Conversely, 23250-23350 is likely to be seen as an intermediate resistance zone, followed by significant obstacles around the 23400-23500 subzones,' said Sameet Chavan, Head Research, Technical and Derivative - Angel One.

Given the current market dynamics, traders are advised to exercise caution and await confirmation of price action at key levels before initiating fresh positions, said Aakash Shah of Choice Broking.

/IANS