Mumbai, May 24 (IANS): Indian equity benchmarks were trading flats on Friday, following negative global cues.

At 10.00 a.m., Sensex was at 75,318, down 99 points and Nifty was at 22,933, down 34 points.

Midcap and smallcap stocks are performing better as compared to largecaps. The Nifty midcap 100 is up 47 points or 0.09 per cent, at 52,464 points and the Nifty smallcap 100 is up 70 points or 0.42 per cent, at 16,981 points.

The India volatility index, India VIX is up 1.64 per cent, at 21.73 points.

Among the sector indices, PSU Bank, Metal, Media, Commodities, PSE, and Service sectors are major gainers. IT, Auto, FMCG, Pharma, Energy, and Infra are major laggards.

Fourteen out of 30 Sensex stocks are trading in red.

L&T, Bajaj Finserv, Wipro, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, and SBI are the top gainers. M&M, Maruti Suzuki, TCS, Infosys, Sun Pharma, and JSW are the top losers.

A decline is being seen in Asian markets. The markets of Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, and Hong Kong remain under pressure. Only Jakarta markets are in the green. The US market closed with a decline in Thursday's session.

Crude oil benchmark Brent crude is at $81 per barrel and WTI crude is at $76 per barrel.

Market experts said: "The 1196 point rally in the Sensex yesterday was triggered mainly by the sudden shift in FII trade from sustained sellers to big buyers resulting in buying of Rs 4,671 crore. The massive short-covering caused by this sudden change in FII trade contributed to the sharp rally."

"What makes this rally healthy is the fact that it is being led by fairly valued largecaps with the overvalued broader market taking a backseat. The trend of outperformance of largecaps is likely to continue," they added.