Mumbai, Oct 10 (IANS): Indian equity indices opened in the green on Thursday following positive cues from the US and Asian peers.

At 9.50 a.m., Sensex was up 93 points or 0.11 per cent at 81,560 and Nifty was up 29 points or 0.12 per cent at 25,011.

In early trade, the market trend was positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,689 shares were in the green and 475 shares were in the red.

Buying was also seen in midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty midcap 100 index was up 334 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 59,423 and the Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 138 points, or 0.73 per cent, at 19,002.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, metal, realty, fin service, energy, private bank, infra, PSE, and oil and gas were the major gainers. IT and pharma were the major losers.

Hardik Matalia Derivative Analyst at Choice Broking said, "After a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 24,950 followed by 24,850 and 24,700. On the higher side, 25,100 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,200 and 25,300."

"The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 50,800, followed by 50,500 and 50,200. If the index advances further, 51,200 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 51,400 and 51,500," they added.

In the Sensex, Power Grid, M&M, HCL Tech, L&T, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Titan, NTPC, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank and UltraTech Cement were the top gainers. Infosys, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, HUL, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers.

Almost all Asian markets are trading in the green. The markets of Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul are trading briskly. The US stock markets closed sharply on Wednesday.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 4,562 crore on October 9, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 3,508 crore on the same day.