Mumbai, Jun 24 (IANS): India equity benchmarks opened in red on Monday as heavyweights like IndusInd bank, Tata Steel, SBI, and JSW Steel are top losers.

At 9:41 am, Sensex was down 430 points or 0.56 per cent, 76,779, and Nifty was down 134 points or 0.57 per cent, 23,366.

Overall sentiment in the market is negative. On NSE, Out of total stocks 1,492 shares are in the red and 716 in the green.

There is also a decline in small and medium stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 428 points or 0.76 per cent to 55,005 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 127 points or 0.70 per cent to 18,106.

Among the sectoral indices, Auto, PSU bank, fin service, metal, and pvt bank are major gainers. Only the FMCG index is trading in the green.

One reason for the market fall is believed to be the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Quant Mutual Fund regarding front running.

According to the experts: "The consolidation phase in the market is likely to continue. The near-term strength in the market is likely to come from Bank Nifty assisted by institutional buying notably from FIIs who turned buyers last week. However, SEBI investigation in the Quant Mutual Fund is a slight sentiment negative for the market."

Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking said, "The Nifty has been trading in the 23,400 to 23,670 range. If Nifty breaks the 23,400 level, it could further correct down to the 23,000 and 22,800 levels."

"On the flip side, the 23,800 level acts as strong resistance. If the index breaks this level, it could reach an all-time high near the 24,000 level," Bhojane added.

Mixed trading is taking place in Asian markets. The markets of Tokyo and Jakarta are in the green. However, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul are in the red. US markets closed flat on Monday. Crude oil benchmark Brent crude is at $84 per barrel and WTI crude is at $80 per barrel.