Mumbai, Oct 21 : The Indian stock market opened in green on Monday as buying was seen in the auto, IT and PSU bank sectors.

The Sensex was trading at 81,653.83 after gaining 429.08 points or 0.53 per cent in early trade. Nifty opened at 24,955.50 after climbing 101.45 points or 0.41 per cent.

The market trend remained positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,509 stocks were trading in green, while 602 stocks were trading in red.

At the same time, 1,727 stocks were trading in green and 807 stocks in red on the BSE.

Nifty Bank was at 52,335.50 after gaining 241.30 points or 0.46 per cent. Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 58,954.85 level after slipping 305.70 points or 0.52 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 19,122.45 after gaining 44.65 points or 0.23 per cent.

Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and Wipro were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. Kotak Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, M&M and NTPC were the top losers.

HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, SBI Life Insurance, and Axis Bank were the top gainers in the Nifty pack. Tata Consumer Products Limited, Kotak Mahindra, BPCL, and Bharti Airtel were the top losers.

In Asia, the markets of Jakarta, Shanghai, and Tokyo were trading in the green. At the same time, the markets of Bangkok and Hong Kong were trading in the red. The US stock market closed in the green on the last trading day.

According to experts, with the US markets setting new record highs, the global stock market rally appears intact.

The steady decline in crude and stability in the US bond yields impart resilience to the stock market despite lingering tensions in the Middle East, they added.

'More importantly, the financial segment is doing well and is in the pink of health. Q2 results of leading banking names like HDFC, Kotak and Axis indicate improving prospects,' according to market watchers.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,485 crore on October 18, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 5,214 crore on the same day.

/IANS