Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 18 (ANI): Indian stock markets opened flat on Monday as foreign portfolio investor (FPI) outflows continued to weigh on sentiment.

The Nifty 50 index opened at 22,963.65, marking a marginal gain of 4.15 points or 0.02 percent, while the BSE Sensex edged up by 31.98 points or 0.04 percent to open at 76,028.84.

Market experts noted that foreign outflows are unlikely to ease in the near term, keeping the markets under pressure. They expect a sideways to negative trading session for Indian equities.

Ajay Bagga, Banking and Market Expert told ANI 'Indian markets continue to bleed, with the broader indices entering bear market territory with losses exceeding 23-24 per cent for Nifty Small Cap100 and 250 indices. There is no catalyst in sight for reversing the FPI outflows from India, given the soft earnings outlook and still high valuations, especially in the SMID segment'.

He further added 'The buying at lower levels on Monday helped Indian markets to end in the green thanks for some heavyweights seeing contra buying. Expect a sideways to negative day for Indian markets, though the 8 day losing streak was broken yesterday'.

On the sectoral front, Nifty IT was the only index trading in the green, while all other sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) declined. Among the Nifty 50 stocks, 39 opened with losses, while 11 registered gains.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research, Axis Securities said 'Yesterday's rebound in the Nifty ended an 8-day loss streak, showing, yet again, the importance of support in the 22700 - 22800 area. This was the fourth time the zone marked an upside reversal, so it will continue to matter. The broader benchmarks, smallcaps and midcaps also ended in the green with their reversals showing long lower shadows, demonstrating that bulls remain active at these levels. Resistance for the day spans the 23040 - 23140 area'.

Meanwhile, in the broader Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.79 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.48 percent. South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.61 percent, whereas Taiwan Weighted remained flat at the time of reporting. (ANI)