Markets positive in early trades

The markets are witnessing positive trades with the BSE Sensex at 16,714, up 70 points and the Nifty at 5,031, up 12 points. The gains in the opening trades are being led by ICICI Bank, L&T and index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

In the broader markets, the midcap index  opened up 0.3% in line with the Sensex and the smallcap index, addded 0.2% in the opening trdes.

Domestic cues are likely to take centrestage today in determining the market sentiment with a host of corporate results besides global cues.

World stocks and the euro rose on Thursday as the European bond auctions eased worries about the euro zone debt crisis, while encouraging earnings reports from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America bolstered Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average settled up 0.36 per cent at 12,623.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.49 per cent at 1,314.50.

Asian shares extended their gains to fresh two-month highs on Friday. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent and was set for a third weekly gain and a fourth straight session of increases. Japan's Nikkei average opened up 1.3 per cent.

Back home, analysts expect the Nifty to face some resistance around 5,030 – 5,040 levels. On the downside it may seek support around 5,005 – 5,000, they say.

Among the sectoral indices, Realty, Bankex and Consumer Durables up nearly 1% each are the top gainers. Meanwhile, the Oil & gas index started off marginally in the negative, down nearly 0.2%

The movers among the Sensex pack are Wipro,ICICI Bank,DLF and Sterlite, up 2-4% each.

Among the losers are Coal India, RIL, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank and Hero MotoCorp, down 0.4-0.8%.

On the corporate front, Wipro, India's third-largest software services exporter, reported a 10.4% rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,456 crore in the quarter ended December 31,2011. The figures are in line with street expectations helped by a weaker rupee and the restructuring of its operations.

The market breadth is positive as 678 stock advance against 239 declining ones, on the BSE.