The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a weak start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,620 level, a discount of nearly 38 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

The BSE Sensex was trading at 78,295.70, down 379.48 points, or 0.48 per cent. Smallcap and midcap indices fell 1.77 per cent and 1.41 per cent, respectively.

Indian stock markets opened slightly lower on Thursday, continuing a downward trend driven by corporate earnings downgrades, higher inflation, and foreign fund outflows. Analysts suggest the downturn might persist until February,

Eicher Motors, Grasim, Kotak Bank, HDFC Life, and Hero MotoCorp were among the top gainers on the Nifty index. BPCL, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consumer, and Nestle India were among the top losers.

Technically, the index on a daily scale has formed a Doji candle near its 200-Days exponential moving average (DEMA) support indicating uncertainty. The 200-DEMA is placed around 23,540.

Benchmark Indian equity indices BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 opened slightly higher on Thursday, amid mixed global cues.