Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS): The Indian stock market opened flat on Thursday as buying was seen in auto, IT, PSU bank, financial services and pharma sectors during the early trade.

The Sensex was trading at 80,194.93 after rising 112.95 points or 0.14 per cent and the Nifty was trading at 24,465.30 after rising 29.80 points or 0.12 per cent.

The market trend remained mixed. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 679 stocks were trading in green, while 854 stocks were trading in red.

The Nifty Bank was at 51,456.95 after rising 217.95 points or 0.43 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 56,454.40 after slipping 79.15 points or 0.14 per cent. At the same time, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,317.95 after rising 31.75 points or 0.17 per cent.

HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, HCL Tech, Tata Motors, BEL and Adani Ports were the top gainers in the Sensex pack. At the same time, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever Limited, SBI Life and Nestle India were the top losers.

In the Asian market, the markets of Shanghai, Hong Kong and Jakarta were trading in the red, along with markets of Japan and Bangkok. The US stock markets closed in the red on the previous trading day.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 5,684 crore on October 23, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 6,039 crore on the same day.

According to market experts, the major headwind that the market is facing now is the massive and sustained FII selling which has touched Rs 93,088 crore through October 23, as per the NSDL data.

“The fundamental trigger for the FII outflows is the elevated valuations in India and the relatively cheap and attractive valuations in markets like China and Hong Kong,” said market watchers.