Markets open on a firm note, Sensex up 100pts

The markets continued trading higher in morning trades with the BSE Sensex  at 17,052, up  93 points and the S&P CNX Nifty at 5,127, up 27 points.

A broad rally in the US markets, lost steam during the final minutes of trading, but stocks still ended sharply higher on Wednesday as investors welcomed the latest plan to recapitalize European banks.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday that policymakers need to act immediately to resolve the long-running crisis. Barroso also said that banks that do not satisfy capital requirements should be barred from paying out dividends and bonuses.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 102.55 points, or 0.90%, to end at 11,518.85. The S&P's 500 Index gained 11.71 points, or 0.98%, to 1,207.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 21.70 points, or 0.84%, to close at 2,604.73.

In Asia, the Hang Seng index has gained nearly 2% while the Nikkei and Shanghai Composite indices have gained 1% each.

Back home,  among the sectoral indices, BSE IT, Teck and Bankex indices are leading the gains, up nearly 1% each. TCS, Infosys, HCL technologies, Wipro and Tech Mahindra, up 1-2% each, are the prominent gainers among the IT stocks.

Canara Bank, SBI, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and Union Bank of India, up 1-2% each, are the gainers from the financials' space.

BSE Oil & Gas, Realty and Healthcare indices, down marginally, are leading the losses.

On the Sensex, Tata Motors, BHEL, TCS, Sterlite Industries and HDFC Bank, up 1-2% each, are the major gainers. The losers from the pack are Maruti Suzuki, Jindal Steel, DLF, Sun Phrma Industries and Reliance Industries, down 1% each.

The overall market breadth is positive as 957 stocks have advanced against 473 declining ones, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.