New Delhi, May 26 -- Indian equity benchmark indices opened flat but in the negative territory on Tuesday morning, as fresh geopolitical escalations in the Middle East revived energy inflation concerns. The BSE Sensex dropped by 144.09 points, or 0.19 per cent, to stand at 76,344.87 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 27.60 points, or 0.11 per cent, to trade at 24,004.10 points.

Broad-based sectoral losses emerged across major indices, with the Nifty Oil & Gas index declining by 0.31 per cent, Nifty Consumer Durables dropping by 0.22 per cent, and Nifty Auto shedding 0.14 per cent.

Contrary to the downward trend, the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Pharma indices edged higher by 0.23 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively.

Analyzing the ...