Indian equities in Thursday's session opened lower amid weak global cues following the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)'s decision to keep interest rate steady at 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent. At the open, Nifty was down 13.1 points at 24,798.95, while the BSE Sensex was down over 67 points at 81,377.

Meanwhile, the high-beta Bank Nifty index traded lower with banks like ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank among others.

From the Nifty50 pack, top gainers were Titan, Eicher Motors, M&M, Apollo Hospitals and Grasim Industries, while laggards included stocks like Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Power Grid Corporation of India.

Sectorally, auto, realty and consumer durable gauges led the gains, while indices like IT, banking, pharma, metal and oil and gas indices traded lower.

Results:   Aegis Vopak Terminals as well as Aegis Logistics will announce their March quarter results today.

Siemens Energy India- Shares of the newly demerged entity will list on the exchanges today. The stock will be put in the T2T segment for 10 days   

Thirumalai Chemicals - In its board meeting, the company will mull raising funds through the issuance of preferential equity shares.

Tata Communications: The company's stock will turn ex-dividend for its final dividend of Rs 25 per share.

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi expects support for the Nifty50 index at 24,600-24,700 levels and a stronger support zone at 24,450-24,550 levels on Thursday, June 19. For the Nifty Bank, the market wizard expects support at 55,375-55,525 levels and a strong buy zone at 54,950-55,150 levels. 

Asian stocks broader declined in early trade on Thursday as geo-political tensions escalated as a report suggested that the US was planning a potential military attack on Iran. As of the last count, the key MSCI Asia ex Japan index traded lower by over 1 per cent at 622.89. US stock futures also dipped in early Asian hours as investors preferred to remain on the sidelines amid ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.

Meanwhile, marketmen are closely assessing the US Federal Reserve's rate decision.