Sensex opens in red at 72,984 points, Nifty at 22,180

As many as 20 Sensex constituents were in the red, with Asian Paints falling over 3.60% while Wipro, Titan and Tech Mahindra dropped more than 1%.

Equity benchmark indices opened on a negative note on Monday, with Sensex falling over 158 points in early trade amid mixed global trends.

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The 30-share Sensex fell 158.57 points or 0.22 per cent to 72,984.23 points while the broader Nifty slipped 33.20 points or 0.15 per cent to 22,179.50 points.

As many as 20 Sensex constituents were in the red, with Asian Paints falling over 3.60 per cent while Wipro, Titan and Tech Mahindra dropped more than 1 per cent.

In the Nifty pack, 31 stocks were trading lower.

Sensex and Nifty closed marginally lower on Friday.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said Asian shares were mixed near seven-month highs on Monday as investors awaited inflation data from the US, Japan, and Europe that will help refine expectations for future rate moves.

"China's new home prices fell for the seventh month in January, leaving sentiment fragile as policymakers' efforts to restore confidence in the debt-ridden sector struggled for traction," he said.

On Friday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they purchased securities worth ₹1,276.09 crore.