)
Markets opened higher, amid firm global cues, helped by a rebound in metal shares along with select index heavyweights. However, intra-day volatility is not ruled out later today with the expiry of August derivative contracts tommorrow.
At 9:17AM, the 30-share Sensex was trading 114 points up at 26,557 and the 50-share Nifty was trading 30 points up at 7,934.
US stocks firmed up on Tuesday as encouraging data showed that the economic growth is picking up pace. Gains were led by energy stocks and the broader S&P 500 ended above 2,000 for the first time to close at 2,000.02. It may be recalled that the S&P 500 had hit 2,000 in intra-day trade on Monday. The global benchmark Dow Jones gained 0.2% at 17,106.70 while the tech-laden Nasdaq ended up 0.3% at 4,570.64.
European shares ended higher on Tuesday, tracking firm US markets, on hopes of further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank. The CAC-40 ended up 1.2%, DAX gained 0.8% and FTSE-100 ended up 0.7%.
Asian shares were steady in early trades while the Nikkei seems to be consolidating after recent gains. The Nikkei was trading flat with positive bias. China's Shanghai Composite was up 0.1% while Hang Seng was also up 0.1% and Straits Times gained 0.3%.
Metal shares rebounded after recent losses following the apex court's verdict on coal block allocations. Jindal Steel was up 2%, Hindalco gained 1.1% and Tata Steel was up 1%.
ONGC was up over 1% on talk that the subsidy burden would be shared between the government and upstream oil companies.
IT shares came under profit taking with Infosys, Wipro and TCS trading with marginal losses.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap was up 0.9% and Small-cap index was up 0.7%.
Market breath was strong with 950 gainers and 264 losers on the BSE.
