The Indian equity benchmark indices opened mildly lower on Tuesday amid mixed global cues. At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 0.03 percent, or 16.94 points lower at 55,565.64, and the Nifty50 index opened at 16,545.25, down 17.80 points, or 0.11 percent.

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Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices opened flat.

On the Nifty50 index, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consumer, Sun Pharma, Cipla, and Britannia were the top gainers while HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors led the losses.

Among sectors, banks, metals and auto stocks declined, while FMCG and pharma indices gained.

Globally, Investors managed to shrug off new concerns about China's economy, the coronavirus Delta variant and turmoil in Afghanistan to largely drive stocks higher while also boosting some more defensive investments.

Wall Street also rebounded after early losses Monday to see two of its three major indices close higher, with the S&P 500 posting a new record high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the only index to end the day lower.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, fell 1.24 points, or 0.17 percent.

Oil prices settled lower, shrinking steep earlier losses after sources told Reuters that OPEC and its allies believe the markets do not need more oil than they plan to release in the coming months. Brent crude settled down 1.5 percent at $69.51 a barrel after falling to $68.14. U.S. oil fell by 1.7 percent to $67.29 after reaching lows of $65.73.

With inputs from Reuters

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