Mumbai, Feb. 24 -- The headline equity benchmarks opened the session sharply lower, dragged down by heavy selling in index heavyweight Bharti Airtel and weakness across IT stocks. Investor sentiment remained subdued after U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats rattled global markets, while the expiry of monthly F&O contracts on the NSE added to the volatility in early trade.

The Nifty traded below the 25,550 mark. IT, realty and media shares declined, while metal and oil & gas shares advanced.

At 09:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, dropped 603.44 points or 0.72% to 82,691.22. The Nifty 50 index lost 178.28 points or 0.68% to 25,535.25.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 Mi...