Mumbai, Aug. 19 -- Indian benchmark indices opened on a muted note amid higher commodity prices. Sensex opened marginally lower at 77,218.05 against the previous close of 77,235.46 while Nifty opened below 24,200 level as conflicting signals from Tehran and Washington over Strait of Hormuz weighed down on investors' sentiment.

Nifty was trading at around 24,072.25, down 82.65 points or 0.34 per cent while Sensex was trading at around 76,990.55 down 244.91 points or 0.32 per cent at the time of reporting. All broad market indices traded in the red. Sectorally, most indices remained under pressure including -- auto, metal, PSU Bank, realty, consumer durables, financial services, chemicals, cement. Meanwhile, FMCG, IT, oil & gas and telecom...