Indian equities opened flat but edged higher Friday as gains in private banks offset weakness in autos and IT. Nifty rose 23 pts to 24,523, Sensex +84 at 80,164. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra, and Trent supported trade, while M&M, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Infosys, and Dr Reddy's lagged. Key Nifty support lies at 24,300-24,350.