Markets open higher on global cues

Oil & gas index soars ahead of Ril numbers

Markets have opened in the green this morning on the back of strong cues from global peers. The Sensex is up 137 points at 20,102. Nifty is up 42 points at 6,079.

US stocks rallied on Thursday, with the Dow closing near a 5-year high,as upbeat reports on the economy offset mixed corporate results. The Dow Jones surged 0.63% to 13,596. The Nasdaq and S&P moved up over half a per cent each.

In Asia, markets traded mostly in the green as Chinese economic data beat expectations, with Japan surging as the yen touched new multiyear lows. Nikkei added 2% to 10,835 - taking its monthly gain to almost 8%. Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted also went up 1% each.

BSE oil & gas index has surged 3.6% at 9,622 ahead of market heavyweight - Reliance's result. BSE PSU, capital goods, metal and bankex have also added 0.3-2% each. However the auto and IT index are showing weakness in early trades - down 0.1 and 0.3% respectively.

India's third-largest software services provider Wipro has registered a rise of 18% in its consolidated net profit of Rs 1,716 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,456 crore in the year ago period. Wipro was the biggest dragger among Sensex stocks - down 3.6% at Rs 415.

Hero MotoCorp is down 5.3% at Rs 1,722. India's largest motorcycle maker missed estimates for the fourth straight quarter on Thursday as net profit fell 20.4% on rising costs and falling sales that battered margins.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and HUL are among the key losers.

On the other hand, ONGC has soared 10% to Rs 346 after the government has partially deregulated diesel prices. The price hike decisions have been left to the oil marketing companies.

Gail, hindalco and Maruti Suzuki are up 1-5% each. Among other key gainers are Coal India and Bajaj Auto.

Reliance, ahead of its results, is up 1% at Rs 897. HDFC Bank and ITC are trading higher by 0.6%. Both companies will post their quarterly numbers later today.

BSE market breadth is positive in opening deals. Out of 1495 stocks traded, 927 shares have advanced while 503 shares have declined.