Markets have a positive start

The markets have opened on a mildly positive note after the rally in the previous session and a favourable set of cues from the global indices. The Sensex is at 20,332, higher by 76 points and the Nifty is at 6073, up 13 points in early trades. The midcap index is at 7688, higher by 29 points and the smallcap index is at 9532, up 21 points.

The indices had a strong finish on Wednesday, with the Sensex consolidating its hold above the psychological 20k mark and hitting a 1-1/2-month high to end the session stronger by 242 points at 20,267 and the Nifty reclaiming the 6k mark to end at 6066, up 67 points.

On the global front, the S&P 500 headed for its best December in nearly two decades as US stocks advanced in thin trade on Wednesday, lifted by investor optimism about the economy in 2011. The Dow was up 10 points at 11,586 and the Nasdaq was up four points at 2,666. And the Asian markets are mostly trading higher this morning; Hong Kong shares climbed in early trade, with metal and local property shares leading the rise. KLSE Composite, NZSE and Seoul Composite were trading flat while Straits Times, Taiwan Weighted and Jakarta Composite added 0.1% - 0.3%.

One would have to keep an eye on the macro environment as the government is set to unveil data on some wholesale price indices for the year through 18 December, viz. the food price index, the primary articles index and fuel price index.The expiry of the near-month F&O contracts is also likely to cause volatility in the later part of the session.

The metal space is shining this morning. Jindal Steel has jumped by 0.7% at Rs 714 and Tata Steel has gained 0.6% at Rs 672 on the BSE. The IT space is seeing the likes of TCS gaining by 0.6% at Rs 1162 and Wipro adding 0.5% at Rs 491. And index bellweather RIL has moved higher by 0.4% at Rs 1053.

On the other hand, ONGC has edged lower by 0.3% at Rs 1297 and NTPC is trading flat, with a negative bias, at Rs 197, down 0.1%.

The market breadth is positive. Out of 1163 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 757 advancing stocks as against 369 declines.