Mumbai, Aug 16 (IANS): Taking a cue from muted global markets, the key Indian equity market indices on Thursday opened lower.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 37,852 points on Tuesday, opened lower at 37,796.01 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 37,677.12 points, down by 174.88 points, or 0.46 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, was quoting at 11,390.35 points, down by 44.75 points or 0.39 per cent.

The markets remained closed on Wednesday for the Independence Day celebrations.

On Thursday, Asian indices were showing a negative trend. Japan's Nikkei 225 was quoting in red, down by 0.35 per cent while Hang Seng was down by 0.80 per cent, South Korea's Kospi was down 0.99 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite index was trading in red, down by 0.91 per cent.

Overnight, Nasdaq closed in red, down by 1.24 per cent while FTSE 100 was also down by 1.52 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.