The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened higher by 44 points in the opening trade. The sensex was trading at 17474, up by over 11 points when reports last came in. National Stock Exchange index Nifty was trading flat at 5231. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index opened 0.67 per cent higher, while Japanese Nikkei index lost 0.58 per cent in early trade.