Mumbai, Dec 5 : Indian equity markets opened slightly lower on Friday, as investors awaited the Reserve Bank of Indiaâ??s key interest rate decision.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will announce the repo rate at 10 AM after concluding its three-day meeting, keeping traders cautious at the start of the session.

At the opening bell, the Sensex was at 85,187, down 79 points or 0.09 per cent. The Nifty also saw a mild decline, slipping 12 points or 0.05 per cent to 26,021.

Several heavyweight stocks dragged the market, with Reliance Industries, Trent, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Sun Pharma and Titan trading in the red.

On the other hand, companies like Eternal, BEL, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys and Ultratech Cement were among the top gainers, offering some support to the benchmarks.

In the broader market, sentiment remained soft as the Nifty MidCap index edged down 0.07 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index fell 0.30 per cent.

Sector-wise, pharma and metal stocks were under pressure, with both indices declining 0.3 per cent.

However, real estate stocks bucked the trend, helping the Nifty Realty index gain 0.28 per cent.

Analysts said that the markets traded cautiously ahead of the RBIâ??s policy outcome, with investors keeping a close watch on the central bankâ??s commentary and the interest rate outlook.

Rupeeâ??s sharp recovery yesterday to 89.97 from the low of 90.42 is signalling some sort of stability in the currency market.

"RBI governorâ??s views on the rupee today will significantly influence the near-term direction of the currency," analysts said.

/IANS