Mumbai, Feb 9 (IANS): Taking a cue from global markets, the key Indian equity indices opened higher on Thursday.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 28,289.92 points on Wednesday, opened higher at 28,349.22 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 28,415.17 points, up by 125.25 points, or 0.44 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 8,769.05 points, was quoting at 8,795.55 points, up by 26.50 points or 0.30 per cent.

Equities markets on Wednesday closed on a flat note, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept key lending rates unchanged in its sixth and final monetary policy review for 2016-17 fiscal.

The key indices were pulled down by profit booking, as selling pressure was witnessed in banking, healthcare and FMCG stocks.

The Sensex was down by 45.24 points or 0.16 per cent at Wednesday's closing. In the day's trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index touched a high of 28,391.64 points and a low of 28,149.08 points.

The Nifty, was up by merely 0.75 points or 0.01 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian indices were showing a positive trend except the Japanese equity market index.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was trading in red, down 0.22 per cent, Hang Seng up by 0.42 per cent while South Korea's Kospi was up by 0.22 per cent.

China's Shanghai Composite index was quoting in green, up by 0.33 per cent.

On a positive note, Nasdaq closed in green, up by 0.14 per cent and FTSE 100 was also up by 0.04 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.