Mumbai, Dec 26 (IANS): Sensex and Nifty traded marginally lower during the early trade session on Thursday as they were dragged by heavyweight large caps like the HDFC Bank, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, TCS and SBI except for Reliance Industries (RIL).

RIL, the biggest index contributor and India's most valuable company recovered from early losses to trade at Rs 1,549.60 a share, higher by 0.20 per cent.

The stocks of oil to telecom major have witnessed significant pressure since the government asked a court to restrain a $15 billion deal in which Saudi Aramco would acquire a stake in RIL.

At 10 a.m., the Sensex was trading 4.41 points lower at 41,456.85. It opened at 41,543.80 from its previous close of 41,461.26.

The broader Nifty also traded with little change at 12,205.20.

On Tuesday, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) turned seller for the first time in 10 days offloading Rs 114 crore worth of shares, provisional data from the bourses showed.

It comes after an inflow of nearly Rs 6,500 crore in just seven past trading sessions.

However, FPIs remain net buyers for the month of December. It has bought shares worth Rs 6,500 crore and sold over Rs 5,700 crore.

According to a report by the Kotak Securities, the market mood is more positive than what is reflected in real economy. This is mainly because of the improvement in earnings led by a reduction in corporate tax rate and strong FPI and SIP flows.