Markets recover in early trades

Markets opened in the red, taking cues from global bourses. Sensex opened at 17,978 - down 10 points. The index thereafter recovered marginally to 18,024 - up 36 points. Nifty was up 11 points at 5,492 after opening at 5,409.

"The trend deciding level for the day is 17,969/5,406 levels. If Nifty trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 18,060–18,132/5,436-5,458 levels. However, if Nifty trades below 17,969/5,406 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 17,898–17,807/5,384-5354 levels," said Angel Broking.

US markets dropped on Tuesday after gaining for consecutive days as investors worries over lingering problems in West Asia. The Dow dropped 18 points to 12,019. Nasdaq and S&P 500 shed marginally as well.

Asian markets were trading on a mixed note. Hang Seng dropped 71 points to 22,787. Nikkei shed 1.6% to 9,455 after gaining 4% on Tuesday. According to the Nikkei newspaper the total damage estimated by the government would reach 15-25 trillion yen.

Markets would be looking at the gas price pooling meet to be held later this week. An inter-ministerial group would meet to deliberate on subsidising costlier imported LNG by making consumers of cheaper domestic natural gas pay more.

In positive news, advance tax paid by corporates increased by over 22% to Rs 1.97 lakh crore in the current fiscal compared to the year-ago period, indicating buoyant economic activities.

On Tuesday, markets in India closed in the green after three consecutive days of losses buoyed by gains in auto and realty shares. The Sensex added 149 points to 17,988. Nifty was up 49 points at 5,414.

SBI has raised about Rs 5,500 crore via bond issue.

ICICI Bank was the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks, followed by Ranbaxy, Hero Honda and SAIL. In Nifty, Cipla, Sesa Goa, Kotak Mahindra Bank and GAIL jumped in trades.

Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra dropped 1.3%, followed by BPCL, TCS and Maruti Suzuki. Auto shares fell as the Delhi government increased taxes on diesel cars by additional 25%.