The markets have opened in the positive due to the return of stability on the global front and short-covering on derivatives expiry day. Leaving behind the disappointing triple digit losses of the past two trading sessions, the Sensex is quoting at 18245, higher by 65 points and the Nifty is at 5478, up 16 points in early trades. The midcap index is at 7758, higher by 43 points and the smallcap index is at 9819, up 59 points.
US stocks staged a comeback overnight on bargain hunting after touching six-week lows; Dow was up 19 points at 10,060 and Nasdaq rose 17 points at 2,141. And the Asian markets edged higher in early trades, with the Nikkei adding 0.3% at 8,872 and Shanghai gaining 0.3% to 2,603.
The major gainers on the Sensex are DLF (strengthened by 0.9% at Rs 314), Wipro (gained 0.9% at Rs 403) and Hindalco (added 0.8% at Rs 164). ITC, Reliance Infra and Jaiprakash Associates are the other significant gainers.
On the other hand, M&M has weakened by 0.7% at Rs 610, Cipla has shed 0.3% at Rs 307 and ACC has lost 0.3% at Rs 865. And index heavyweight RIL is flat, with a negative bias, at Rs 967.
The markets breadth is positive. Out of 1688 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1217 advancing stocks as against 427 declines.
