Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started on a choppy note on Monday tracking weak cues from global markets as rising rift between the US and China kept investors on edge.

The 30-share index was trading 23.96 points, or 0.06 per cent, lower at 37,439.03. The broader NSE Nifty was also trading 7.85 points, or 0.07 per cent, down at 11,271.05.

Foreign institutional investors sold equity worth Rs 1,245.14 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares of Rs 1,057.42 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

In the previous session on Friday, the BSE bourse closed 95.92 points, or 0.26 per cent, down at 37,462.99; and the Nifty shed 22.90 points, or 0.20 per cent, to settle at 11,278.90.

On the other hand, SBI, TCS, HUL, ONGC, Bajaj Finance, Vedanta, Hero MotoCorp, HCL Tech, Bharti Airtel, Maruti, ITC and RIL, were among the top gainers, rising up to 1.35 per cent.Elsewhere in Asia, bourses were trading significantly lower after the near collapse of trade talks with China last week.

According to Hemang Jani, Head, Advisory, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, as we move closer towards the election results day, one can expect the volatility in the market to only increase further. The general election continues to be an important near-term event for the market.