Dec 29 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks opened little changed on Monday, as thin year-end participation and persistent foreign outflows kept risk appetite in check.

The Nifty 50 index rose 0.04% to 26,051.4, while the BSE Sensex index added 0.03% to 85,063.18, as of 9:23 a.m. IST.

Nine of the 16 major sectors declined at the open, although the losses were marginal. The broader small-caps and mid-caps were little changed.

The benchmarks have traded in a narrow range over the last few sessions amid thin trade towards the end of the year.

The daily trading volume of Nifty 50 stocks in December was 250 million shares, down from 300 million in November.

Foreign portfolio investors continued to sell, with outflows amounting to shares worth 3.18 billion rupees ($35.43 million) on Friday, as per provisional data.

They have offloaded Indian shares worth $1.64 billion so far in December and $18.03 billion in 2025.

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Rashmi Aich)