Mumbai, Nov. 6 -- Indian equity benchmark indices opened marginally higher on Friday despite a sharp sell-off across global stock markets, as heavy losses in US technology stocks and weak Asian markets kept investors cautious.

The Nifty 50 opened at 24,538.20, gaining a marginal 1.60 points or 0.01 per cent, while the BSE Sensex started trading at 79,413.66, up 103.65 points or 0.13 per cent.

However, weakness was visible in broader market indices, indicating limited participation in the early gains. The Nifty 100 was down 0.11 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.87 per cent and the Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.54 per cent.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said the sharp fall in US markets wa...