Mumbai, May 3 (IANS) The key Indian equity market indices on Thursday opened higher despite weakness in Asian stocks.
The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 35,176.42 points on Wednesday, opened higher at 35,257.31 points.
Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 35,156.56 points, down by 19.86 points, or 0.06 per cent after taking cue from global markets.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 10,718.05 points on Wednesday, was quoting at 10,703 points, down by 15.05 points or 0.14 per cent.
Weakness in the global equity markets and profit booking by investors had led the key Indian equity indices to close on a flat note with negative bias on Wednesday.
The trade was volatile throughout the day and, according to market observers, selling was witnessed around the closing hour of trade.
Heavy selling pressure in metal, consumer durables and auto stocks weighed on the indices.
The Sensex was up by 16.06 points or 0.05 per cent at the Wednesday's closing. In the day's trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index had touched a high of 35,357.15 points and a low of 35,072.42 points. The Nifty, however, was down by 21.30 points or 0.20 per cent.
On Thursday, Asian indices were showing a negative trend. Hang Seng was down by 1.66 per cent while South Korea's Kospi was also down by 0.37 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite index was trading in red, down by 0.23 per cent.
Nasdaq closed in red, down by 0.42 per cent while FTSE 100 was up by 0.30 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.
