Mumbai, Sep 23 (IANS): A day after a steep fall, Indian equities again opened lower on Wednesday in line with global cues and most indices were ruling in the red.

The sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 25,526.53 points against Tuesday's close at 25,651.84 points. Some two hours into trading, it was ruling at 25,577.71 points, with a loss of 74.13 points, or 0.29 percent.

At one point, soon after the opening bell, the Sensex had slipped to 25,386.48 points.

Similar subdued sentiments were also seen on the wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) which was ruling at 7,773.75 points, with a loss of 38.25 points, or 0.49 percent.

Out of 30 stocks that go into the Sensex basked, 20 were in the red, one remained unchanged and only eight managed to stay afloat. And among the 12 sector-specific indices of the BSE, 10 were in the red and only the indices for fast moving consumer goods and realty were in the green.

Heavy European sell-offs, as also profit bookings and anxiety over the upcoming derivatives expiries there, had eroded he confidence of investors. Both the US and the European markets had closed in the red on Tuesday.