Mumbai, July 22 (IANS): Indian equity indices opened in the red on Monday following weak global cues from asian peers.

At 9:45 a.m., Sensex was at 80,501, down 89 points or 0.11 per cent and Nifty was down 26 points or 0.12 per cent, at 24,504.

Buying is seen in the smallcap and midcap stocks. The Nifty smallcap 100 index is up 62 points or 0.34 per cent at 18,460 and the Nifty midcap 100 index is 124 points or 0.22 per cent at 56,032.

UltraTech Cement, Infosys, NTPC, Nestle, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, ITC, and TCS are the top gainers in the Sensex pack. Wipro, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance, L&T, JSW Steel, and ICICI Bank are the top losers.

Most of the markets in Asia are witnessing a decline. The markets of Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Bangkok are in the red. The markets of Hong Kong and Jakarta are in the green. American markets closed in the red on Friday.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities said, "Asian stocks fell after Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. The question for investors is whether to stick with Trump trade now that Biden has dropped his reelection bid."

"For Nifty 24,854 could now be a strong resistance for the near term while 24,087 - 24,344 band could provide support," he added.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,506 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 461 crore on July 19.