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Markets remained rangebound amid profit taking at higher levels as trades remained cautious ahead of the November CPI and October IIP data due for release later today.
At 10:30AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 64 points at 27,666 and the 50-share Nifty was up 22 points at 8,315.
Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and the consumer price index (CPI), which are to be released later today, are likely to bring cheer, with analysts expecting IIP to grow at a faster pace and inflation to moderate further.
According to ZyFin Research, industrial activity will expand in October, with the monsoon recording a smaller-than-expected deficit, strong August data for the eight core sector industries and the recovery in the US economy.
On the economic front, progress on the Centre's proposed goods and services tax (GST) slowed further on Thursday as the states turned down the government's revised draft on a Constitution amendment Bill in this regard.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in Indian equities worth Rs 808 crore and also sold derivatives worth Rs 1,335 crore on Thursday, stock exchange data showed.
Stocks in Japan edged higher led by exporters after the yen weakened against the US dollar while rebound in US markets also improved investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei was up more than 1%. Chinese stocks pared early gains and are trading flat while the Hang Seng was trading 0.1% higher and Straits Times gained 0.4%.
The BSE Healthcare index was the top sectoral gainer up 0.7% followed by IT, FMCG and Bankex among others.
In the pharma segment, Sun Pharma and Cipla were up 0.2-0.7% each.
TCS trimmed gains and was up 0.6% on reports that the information-technology services player is undergoing a restructuring exercise. The workforce optimisation programme, in the planning stage, is expected to be over in February 2015, according to media reports.
Infosys bounced back on short covering after the correction on Thursday and was up nearly 1% while Wipro was up 0.8%.
Bharti Airtel was up 2.2%. Recently, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has set aside a penalty of Rs 650 crore imposed on the company by Department of Telecommunication (DOT) in a roaming case.
Oil shares were trading mixed with Reliance Industries up 0.2% and state-owned exploration major ONGC down 1.2%
SBI, Axis Bank were among the other Sensex gainers.
ITC was the top Sensex loser down 0.7% along with M&M, Gail and ICICI Bank among others.
NMDC was up 1% on media reports that the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Akron to buy a stake in a potash mine in Russia.
Tata Chemicals was up 0.8% on reports that the company is planning to invest around Rs 150 crore into setting up a nutraceuticals manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai in next three years.
Among other shares, IL&FS Engineering has surged 11% to Rs 64.45 on BSE in early morning deal after the company said Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia (MISA), a subsidiary of construction firm has received Rs 464-crore contract from Saudi Binladin Group for construction of Abraj Kudai project in Makkah in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6-0.7% each.
Market breadth was positive with 1,009 gainers and 351 losers on the BSE.
