Tracking Asian bourses the Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Thursday. The Sensex was trading at 17,444 points, lower by 18 points. The Nifty was seen trading lower by 5 points at 5,297 points at 9.40 am IST.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.24%, China's Shanghai Composite was down by 0.19%, while the Hang Seng index lower by 0.29%.

Private Sector Output in the Eurozone shrank for a fifth straight month in June 2012 as manufacturing and services contracted at its fastest pace, indicating a worsening economic slump in the 17-member economy.

Investors were also waiting for the ECB and the Bank of England policy decision today. The ECB is tipped to cut interest rates by 25 basis points while the Bank of England may expand its bond purchasing program.

Among the shares that gained ground in morning trade were HUL, IDFC, ACC and BHEL.

Stocks that failed to lure investors in early trade were Bajaj Auto, Jaiprakash Associates, GAIL and DLF.

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