Markets have opened higher in trades today tracking firm global cues ahead of the F&O expiry today. The Sensex has advanced 94 points to open at 18,935 and the Nifty has advanced 23 points to 5,750 levels.
Asian shares edged higher on Thursday, mirroring U.S. and European stock rises overnight, as sentiment improved after a senior U.S. lawmaker said he was "optimistic" on reaching a budget deal before the end of the year to avoid a fiscal crisis.
Hang Seng was up 222 points or 1% at 21,930, Nikkei advanced 61 points or 0.6% to 9,369, Seoul Composite advanced 17 points to 1,929 and the Taiwan Weighted jumped 64 points to 7,499.
US equities jumped overnight after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner voiced optimism that Republicans could broker a deal with the White House to avoid year-end austerity measures.
President Barack Obama later said he hoped an agreement can be reached before Christmas to avoid a "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts worth $600 billion due to start in the new year and aimed at shrinking the budget deficit.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 107 points to 12,985 at the close, S&P 500 gained 11 points, or 0.8% to 1,409.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 24 points to close at 2,992.
Back home, buying interest is visible across the board. Most of the Sensex stocks are witnessing buying in the opening deals. Dr Reddy's Labs is the top Sensex gainer, up 1.6% at Rs 1,813. HDFC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Cipla, ITC, Jindal Steel, GAIL India, Hindalco, TCS, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India have also advanced 0.7-1.6% each in the opening deals.
While, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and BHEL have opened on a weak note on the back of profit booking.
On the sectoral front, the BSE realty index is the top gainer, up 1.5% or 29 points at 1,966. FMCG, consumer durables, metal, capital goods and bankex indices are also up 0.5-1.3% each.
The broader markets are in-line with the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index is up 0.4% or 30 points at 6,772 and the small-cap index has advanced 0.5% or 37 points to 7,220.
The overall breadth is positive as 990 stocks are advancing while 374 are declining.
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