Mumbai, Aug. 26 -- Headline equity indices opened sharply lower, weighed down by concerns over potential U.S. trade actions. Sentiment turned cautious after the United States issued a draft notice proposing tariffs of up to 50% on Indian goods, set to take effect from Wednesday.

The Nifty traded below the 24,800 level. Barring the Nifty FMCG index, all other sectoral indices traded in the red.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, declined 570.20 points or 0.71% to 81,065.71. The Nifty 50 index dropped 179 points or 0.72% to 24,788.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.85% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index fell 1.05%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 917 shares rose and 2,026 shares fell...