Sensex strong in early trades

The Indian bourses have opened on a strong note owing to positive cues from the global markets. The Sensex is now 16,402, up 210 points. The NSE Nifty is at 4,906, up 61 points.

The Asian markets have opened in the green.

Hindalco is the top gainer on the Sensex, up 3% at Rs 154. Sterlite, Tata Steel, Jaiprakash Associates, Tata Motors and Infosys are up over 2% each.

The other prominent gainers are ICICI Bank, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Infrastrcuture, ACC and BHEL, up 1.5% each.

Among the sectoral indices, metal and IT indices have advanced 2% each to 16,114 and 5,171, respectively