Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) A key Indian equities index opened marginally higher Thursday but soon registered a decline, in line with the sentiments in other Asian markets on worries over the pace and depth of of economic recovery.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened at 17,004.98 points, against the previous close at 16,998.78 points, and soon fell to 16,928.11 points as trading commenced.

Some 15 minutes into the session, the barometer index was ruling at 16,932.30 points, with a loss of 66.48 points, or 0.39 percent. Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, 14 were in the green, 15 were ruling in the negative territory, while one scrip remained unchanged.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,042.25 points, over the previous close at 5,054.70 points, with a loss of 12.45 points, or 0.25 percent, data with the exchange showed.