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

The Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE, which had closed at 37,789.13 points on Wednesday, opened lower at 37,747.91 points.

Minutes into trading, it was quoting at 37,651.09 points, down by 138.04 points, or 0.37 per cent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader Nifty 50, which had closed at 11,359.45 points on Wednesday, was quoting at 11,319.35 points, down by 40.10 points or 0.35 per cent.

As many as 19 stocks advanced in the Nifty 50 index while 31 stocks declined. In BSE Sensex 18 stocks, including Tata Motors, NTPC, were trading in red, while 12 stocks including Tata Steel, Coal India were trading in green at 9.23 a.m.

Global trade tensions along with disappointing quarterly results suppressed the key Indian equity indices on Wednesday.

The Sensex was down by 487.50 points or 1.27 per cent at the Wednesday's closing. In the day's trade, the barometer 30-scrip sensitive index had touched a high of 38,248.57 points and a low of 37,743.07 points. The Nifty, too was down by 138.45 points or 1.20 per cent.

On Thursday, Asian indices were showing mostly a negative trend. Japan's Nikkei 225 was quoting in red, down by 1.11 per cent, Hang Seng was also down by 1.88 per cent. South Korea's Kospi was also quoting in red, down by 1.52 per cent. China's Shanghai Composite was trading in red, down by 1.27 per cent.

Overnight, Nasdaq closed in red, down by 0.26 per cent while FTSE was up by 0.15 per cent at the closing on Wednesday.