The Indian equity benchmark indices opened a percent lower on Monday following losses in global peers amid concerns over a surge in Delta variant of the coronavirus in Asian countries and fears of rising inflation.

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At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 1.00 percent, or 533.07 points lower at 52,606.99, while the Nifty50 index opened at 15,754.50, down 168.90 points, or 1.06 percent.

Broader markets also reeled under pressure, with Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices down over half a percent each.

All the sectoral indices witnessed selling with the Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT indices falling the most in the early morning session.

HDFC Bank, HDFC, ONGC, UPL and Tech Mahindra led the losses among Nifty50 constituents, while NTPC, Titan Company, Bharti Airtel, Divi's Laboratories and Asian Paints were the top index gainers.

Globally, Asian shares slipped to a one-week low on Monday and perceived safe-haven assets, including the yen and gold, edged higher amid fears of rising inflation and a surge in coronavirus cases, while oil prices fell on oversupply worries, said a Reuters report.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.1 percent for a second straight day of losses to 677.45, a level not seen since July 12. The index was on track for its biggest daily percentage drop since July 8.

Gold prices edged higher on Monday, lifted by a retreat in US Treasury yields and concerns that a surge in coronavirus cases could dampen global economic recovery, though an uptick in the dollar limited gains for the safe-haven metal, the report added.

Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,812.83 per ounce, after falling 1 percent in the previous session. US gold futures eased 0.1 percent to $1,813.70.

Meanwhile, Brent crude was down $1.08, or 1.5 percent, at $72.51 a barrel, after falling nearly 3 percent last week. US oil was down $1.01 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $70.80 a barrel, having declined almost 4 percent last week.

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