Mumbai, May 15 : The Indian equity indices opened in the red on Thursday as selling pressure was seen among heavyweights, like Power Grid, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Sun Pharma stocks.

At 9:26 am, Sensex was down 208 points or 0.26 per cent at 81,122 and Nifty was down 54 points or 0.22 per cent at 24,612.

Buying was seen across midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 169 points or 0.30 per cent at 56,306 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 96 points or 0.56 per cent at 17,243.

On the sectoral front, auto, PSU Bank, metal, media, infra and commodities were major gainers. On the other hand, IT, FMCG, realty and energy were major losers.

"If the index sustains above the 24,700 level, it could move higher toward the 24,850'25,000 range. On the downside, immediate support is seen at 24,500 and 24,350, which may serve as attractive entry points for long positions," said Hardik Matalia from Choice Broking.

In the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were major gainers. Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, Infosys, Eternal (Zomato) and Axis Bank were major losers.

"Given the current environment of market uncertainty and heightened volatility, traders are advised to adopt a cautious 'wait and watch' approach, especially when dealing with high-leverage positions," Matalia added.

Most Asian markets were trading in the red. Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul were major losers. However Jakarta was in the green.

Meanwhile, the US market closed in the mixed zone on Wednesday. Dow Jones was down 0.21 per cent and technology index Nasdaq was up 0.72 per cent.

On the institutional front, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 931 crore on May 14, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 316 crore.

/IANS