The Indian equity benchmark indices opened flat with a positive bias on Wednesday following choppy trading in Asian markets. The shares remained on edge in the market as weak Chinese economic data reinforced worries about slowing growth globally amid fraught nerves over a still-dominant pandemic and tapering of central banks' stimulus.

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At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 0.18 percent or 107 points higher at 58,354. Nifty50 index opened marginally higher at 17,387 -- up 7.65 points or 0.08 percent. Broader markets outperformed the frontliners as the midcap and small-cap indices opened higher.

Bluechips leading the gains on the Nifty50 index were ONGC, Shree Cement, Titan, Hero MotorCorp, HDFC Life. Each scrip gained over 1-2 percent. Leading the losses were BPCL, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, and Tech Mahindra.

Among sectors, buying was seen in auto, media, FMCG, IT and pharma indices, while private banks and financial services traded lower.

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Globally, Asian shares fell on Wednesday as MCSI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares sans Japan slipped nearly 1 percent. Meanwhile, Tokyo's Nikkei also slumped nearly a percent, moving off a more than 31-year closing-high the day before.

Markets also remained focused on the timeline for tapering the Federal Reserve's massive pandemic-led stimulus. Overnight on Wall Street, worries about slowing growth saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average lose, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were down nearly half a percent.

Over in commodities, US crude oil prices gained on a larger than expected drawdown in crude oil stocks in the United States. Both the benchmarks rose half a percent with US Crude at $70.82 and Brent crude at $73.94 per barrel.

And spot gold was trading at $1802.0374 per ounce off 0.12 percent, having reached a one week peak of $1,808.50 on the prospects for lower interest rates.

(With inputs from Reuters)