Indian equity benchmark indices began Friday’s session on a largely flat note with a mild negative bias, as investors remained cautious in the holiday-shortened week and fresh triggers were scarce. Domestic markets were shut on Thursday on account of the Christmas holiday. Among the laggards, Bajaj Finance, Eternal, Sun Pharma, TCS, Tata Steel and HCLTech declined up to 1.4 per cent. On the other hand, BEL, Titan, NTPC, Power Grid and ICICI Bank featured among the top gainers in early trade. The broader market showed modest strength, with the Nifty Midcap index advancing 0.21 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap index edging up 0.08 per cent.At around 9:20 AM, the NSE Nifty slipped 12 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 26,130.10, while the BSE Sensex was down 36.71 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 85,371.99.Gold and Silver prices continued to move upwards on Friday, Dec 26. Silver futures on MCX, for March expiry, jumped over 3 per cent in early trade today to hit a high of ₹2,32,156 per 1 kg