Mumbai, Dec 2 : The Indian stock market opened in red on Monday, as selling was seen in the PSU bank and financial services sectors in the early trade.

At around 09:42 am, the Sensex was trading at 79,661.99 after falling 140.80 points or 0.18 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 24,118.85 after falling 12.25 points or 0.05 per cent.

The market trend remained positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,254 stocks were trading in green, while 1,076 stocks were in the red.

Market experts said that Q2 GDP numbers may impact the market but it is unlikely to be a huge impact.

If there is a sharp correction in the market, it could be a buying opportunity, as domestic institutional investors (DIIs) will continue to buy during dips. Segments such as pharma, telecom and digital companies, which are not affected by the slowdown, can be bought on dips, they said.

In the context of a slowdown in growth, the RBI may cut CRR on December 6.

'When CPI inflation is running at 6.2 per cent, the MPC is unlikely to cut rates. A CRR cut will be positive for banks and, therefore, banking stocks are likely to be resilient,' said experts.

Nifty Bank was down 177.45 points or 0.34 per cent at 51,878.15. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,571.55 after gaining 178.90 points or 0.32 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,731.80 after gaining 80.85 points or 0.43 per cent.

On the daily Nifty trends and the market's short-term outlook, Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities said, 'Nifty's rebound on Friday generated a "bullish belt-hold" formation as the prior day's losses were largely recouped - this pattern is seen when a bullish day whose open matches the lows immediately follows a long bearish day."

That makes Thursday's lows at 23,873 important for bulls and bears alike, while resistance remains steadfast at 24,360 followed by the 24,540 area," he added.

In the Sensex pack, Indusind Bank, Bajaj Finance, Reliance, L&T, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, TCS, Infosys and Asian Paints were the top losers. Maruti, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, AltaTech Cement, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, M&M and JSW Steel were the top gainers.

In the Asian markets, the markets of Seoul and Bangkok were trading in red. Whereas, the markets of China, Hong Kong, Japan and Jakarta were trading in the green. US stock markets closed in green in the previous trading session.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,383 crore on November 29, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 5,723 crore on the same day.

/IANS