The Indian benchmark indices opened in the red on Monday amid weak global cues due to rising Middle East tensions, as selling was seen in the IT and auto sectors in the early trade. At around 9.30 am, Sensex was trading 677.10 points or 0.82 per cent down at 81,731.07 while the Nifty declined 204.6 point or 0.81 per cent at 24,907.75