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Markets started the week on a firm note with the Sensex up 65 points at 26,916 and the Nifty gained 24 points to trade at 8,038 in opening trades.
In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap indices gained 0.3% each, almost in line with the BSE benchmark index.
Meanwhile, according to the data available on the exchanges, FIIs were net sellers to the tune of Rs 12.38 crore on Thursday.
Realty index down 1.4% along with IT and Auto indices down 0.1% and 0.2% were the only sectoral indices in red in opening trades.
After a steady start, profit taking in metal, consumer durables and Oil & Gas dragged the respective indices into the negative territory, down 0.01-0.6%.
The ones weighing on the indices in the first hour of trades were Wipro, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank down 0.4-1.5%.
Auto stocks were in red with Tata Motors, M&M, Maruti and Hero MotoCorp down 0.5-1.3%.
Metal names like Hindalco, Tata Steel and Coal India were weak by 0.6-1%
Among the gainers were HDFC, Dr Reddys, BHEL, GAIL and L&T up 0.5-2%.
The market breadth was positive on the BSE. 773 stocks advanced while 633 stocks declined.
Global Markets
Asian stocks were trading mixed on Monday after better-than-expected earnings while growth in new US home sales and the stress tests for banks in the euro zone also helped improve sentiment.
Japanese shares firmed up with the benchmark Nikkei up 0.4% while Straits Times was trading flat with positive bias. However, shares in Hong Kong witnessed profit taking and the Hang Seng was down nearly 1% while Shanghai Composite was down 0.5%.
US stock markets ended with solid gains on Friday on the back of encouraging earnings from IT major Microsoft and Procter & Gamble. However, on-line retailer Amazon witnessed selling pressure after its sales forecast during the holiday quarter and third quarter earnings were lower than expected.
The Dow Jone ended up 127 points at 16,805, the broader S&P 500 ended up 14 points at 1,965 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 31 points to close at 4,484.
