Mumbai, May 2 (IANS): Taking a cue from global markets, the key Indian equity market indices on Thursday opened flat after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold.

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 39,031.55 on Tuesday, opened higher at 39,036.51. Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 38,971.79, down by 59.76 points, or 0.15 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader Nifty 50, which had closed at 11,748.15 on Tuesday, was quoting at 11,728.40, down by 19.75 points or 0.17 per cent.

The markets remained closed on Wednesday on account of Maharashtra Day.

As many as 19 stocks advanced in the Nifty 50 index while 31 stocks declined. In the BSE Sensex 19 stocks including TCS, Tata Steel were trading in red while 11 stocks including ONGC, ITC, Coal India were trading in green at 9.21 a.m.

On Tuesday, both the indices had closed on a flat-to-negative note amid weak global cues.

The Sensex was down by 35.78 points or 0.09 per cent at the Tuesday's closing. In the day's trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index had touched a high of 39,105.88 and a low of 38,753.46. The Nifty, too was down by 6.5 points or 0.06 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian indices were showing mostly a mixed trend. Hang Seng was up by 0.59 per cent while South Korea's Kospi was also up by 0.45 per cent. SGX Nifty was trading in red, down by 0.64 per cent.

Overnight, Nasdaq closed in red, down by 0.57 per cent while FTSE was also down by 0.44 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.