New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- Indian equities struggled to hold on to their opening gains on Tuesday as persistent concerns over elevated crude oil prices and global bond yields ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting weighed on sentiment. The weakness came despite gains in IT stocks and HDFC Bank, India's largest private-sector lender.

After opening higher, both benchmarks Nifty 50 and Sensex turned red. HDFC Bank, which carries the highest weightage in the benchmark indices, gained 2.1% after submitting the names of two candidates to the Reserve Bank of India for the CEO position.

The broader market remained under pressure as Brent crude traded at $107, while damage to the Saudi East-West oil pipeline following a Houthi attack added to ...