Mumbai, Dec 24 (IANS): The key Indian equity market indices on Monday opened higher despite a cautious trend in Asian markets.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 35,742.07 on December 21, opened higher at 35,859.66 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 35,731.58, down by 10.49 points, or 0.03 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 51-scrip Nifty, which had closed at 10,754 points on Friday, was quoting at 10,769.95, up 15.95 points or 0.15 per cent.

Concerns over global economic growth and threat of a partial US government shutdown spooked international and domestic equity indices on the last day of trading, with the BSE Sensex and the NSE plunging nearly 700 points and 200 points, respectively.

On Monday, Asian indices were showing a mixed trend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was quoting red, down by 0.66 per cent, South Korea's Kospi was down by 0.19 per cent, SET Composite of Thailand was down by 0.20 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite index was trading in green, up by 0.16 per cent.

Last week, Nasdaq closed in red, down by 2.99 per cent while FTSE 100 was up by 0.14 per cent at the closing on Friday.