New Delhi, May 12 -- Domestic equity benchmarks opened in the red on Tuesday, mirroring cautious trends across broader Asian markets, amid concerns over the impact of the government's austerity measures and rising crude oil prices.

The BSE Sensex opened at 75,637.76 points, down 377.52 points or 0.50 per cent, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 93.25 points or 0.39 per cent to start the session at 23,722.60 points.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT emerged as the top loser in early trade, falling 1.67 per cent to 28,838.85 points. Nifty Financial Services 25/50 and Nifty Private Bank indices also traded lower by 0.46 per cent each. Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Consumer Durables indices declined 0.38 per cent and 0.18 per cent, respectively, whil...