The markets have opened in the green, in line with the positive global cues.
The Sensex is quoting at 16,846, up 154 points, and the Nifty is at 4,985, up 33 points. Metals and consumer goods have continued their recent good run, while the IT sector has rebounded from the weakness seen on the previous day.
The US stocks rose as existing home sales in November surged at the fastest rate since February 2007, indicating stabilization in the housing sector.
The Dow Jones ended at 10,464, stronger by 50 points, Nasdaq closed at 2,252, higher by 15 points and the S&P 500 touched another 14-month high to close at 1,118, up three points. And the Asian markets are currently trading mixed, albeit with a positive bias.
Infosys (stronger by Rs 44 or 1.7% at Rs 2,546), ICICI Bank (higher by Rs 11 or 1.3% at Rs 837) and NTPC (up Rs 2 or 1.2% at Rs 217) are the leading gainers on the Sensex. Hero Honda, TCS and Sterlite are the other prominent gainers.
On the losers side, ITC has weakened by Rs 1 at Rs 245, Grasim has shed Rs 11 at Rs 2362 and Bharti Airtel has lost Rs 1 at Rs 321.
The market breadth is strong. Out of 1734 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1322 advancing stocks as against 378 declines.
