Mumbai, May 2 : The Indian stock indices opened in the green on Friday following positive cues from the global markets.

At 9:22 am, Sensex was up 350 points or 0.44 per cent at 80,592 and Nifty was up 71 points or 0.29 per cent at 24,407.

Midcap and smallcap indices were trading flat compared to largecap. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 40 points or 0.08 per cent at 54,185. Nifty smallcap 100 index was down 12 points at 16,436.

Among the sectoral indices, auto, PSU bank, private bank, financial services, metal and realty were major gainers. Pharma, FMCG and media were major laggards.

According to analysts, on the technical front, Nifty 50 continues to consolidate in a narrow range, forming a neutral candlestick pattern. On the hourly chart, a flag and pole pattern are developing, suggesting a possible bullish breakout."

"If Nifty sustains above 24,400, it can potentially head towards 24,500 and 24,700 levels. Immediate support levels are placed at 24,200, 24,100, and 24,000, offering dip-buying opportunities," said Mandar Bhojane from Choice Broking.

In the Sensex pack, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M, Tata Motors, TCS, Infosys, HDFC Bank, NTPC and SBI were top gainers. Nestle, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Power Grid and Bajaj Finance were the top losers.

The international markets were trading with gains. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Jakarta and Bangkok were in the green.

The US market also closed with gains on Thursday. In the last session, the technology index Nasdaq surged more than 1.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, Brent crude was at $ 62.62 per barrel with a gain of about one per cent.

On the institutional front, FIIs continued their buying streak for the 11th consecutive session, albeit with a modest net buy figure of Rs 50 crore.

Meanwhile, DIIs showed stronger conviction, purchasing equities worth Rs 1,792 crore. The combined flow suggests a supportive undertone for the Indian equities.

Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research at HDFC Securities, said that overall trend for the Nifty remains bullish, as it continues to trade above all key moving averages.

/IANS