Key Indian equity indices open lower on Wednesday

Key Indian equity indices opened a tad lower and were trading flat on Wednesday, even as their Asian peers continued to see sharper declines, mainly on account of some weak economic data from China and the developments in the global commodity markets, notably the continuing decline in crude oil prices.

Against the previous close at 25,310.33 points, the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 25,299.34 points. Within minutes into trading, the key index was ruling at 25,285.81 points, with a loss of 24.52 points, or 0.10 percent.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share Nifty was ruling at 7,695.50 points with marginal loss of 6.20 points, or 0.08 percent, over the previous close at 7,701.70 points.

The fall in the global crude oil prices, especially since Friday, amid a global glut -- and with the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failing to relent to production cuts -- the investor sentiments were dampened further.

At Friday's meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), there was no agreement on production cuts. This apart, weak data on external trade from China also disappointed traders.

On Tuesday, both the key Indian indices dipped successively to finally end the day in the red.

The 30-share Sensex fell by down 219.78 points, or 0.86 percent from the previous day's close at 25,530.11 points, while the Nifty closed lower by 63.70 points or 0.82 percent at 7,701.70 points.

Japan's Nikkei, Australia's S&P/ASX 200, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China's Shanghai Composite and South Korean Kopsi were all down in early trades on Wednesday.

"Following most global markets, US markets opened weak and ended in the negative zone citing weak global commodity prices and poor exports data from China," Angel Broking said in a pre-open analysis, speaking about the developments in the global markets the day before.

"The European markets closed in negative territory on Tuesday on weak oil prices and unimpressive data out of China where the exports declined for fifth straight month," the brokerage said.

"Indian shares extended their losses on Tuesday, tracing weakness in global markets and poor exports data from China hinting towards weak global demand," it added.