Indian shares opened near the flatline Thursday tracking a mixed set of cues from the global markets amid persisting omicron woes. At 9:15 am, the Sensex opened 0.17 percent or 97 points higher at 57,781. Nifty50 index opened flat at 17,183 — up 16 points or 0.09 percent. The broader market indices were trading higher.

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At 10.28 am, the 30-share benchmark BSE Sensex was 400 points up, trading at 58,092, while the broader 50-share Nifty was 17,285, adding over 118 points.

Bluechips leading the gains on the Nifty50 index were Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Titan, IOC, BPCL. Each scrip gained over 1-3 percent. Leading the losses were L&T, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, and Hero Moto.

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Globally, Asian shares edged higher in choppy trading, helped by advances in Chinese real estate shares, though fears about the Omicron variant of the new coronavirus capped gains regionally.

Also weighing on share markets were remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterating that he and fellow policymakers will consider a faster wind-down to the Fed's bond-buying programme, a move widely seen as opening the door to earlier interest rates hikes.

This helped support the dollar which, despite the cautious mood gained ground on the yen, typically seen as an even safer haven than the greenback.

While Hong Kong and Korea shares rose 0.2 percent, Japan's Nikkei lost over half a percent. Overnight, all three main Wall Street benchmarks fell more than 1 percent overnight as a global rally petered out.

Oil prices also rebounded, albeit after a strong sell-off in recent days based on fears the new variant will hit travel. Brent crude futures rose to $69.48 a barrel, and the US was up to $66.08 a barrel. Spot gold slid to $1,780 an ounce.

—With inputs from Reuters

(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)