Markets open marginally higher; IT leads

TCS, Wipro and Infosys, up 0.5-1.3% among the top gainers in opening trades

Markets started marginally in the green, ignoring weak global cues, with the Sensex up 46 points at 21,022 and the Nifty added 12 points to trade at 6,265. The opening gains were lead by IT heavyweights and Reliance Industries.

In the broader markets, the midcap and smallcap indices gained 0.5% each, both outperforming the Sensex which opened marginally higher.

Global Markets

Stocks in Asia were trading marginally lower after better-than-expected US economic data raised worries that the US Fed may start pruning its monetary stimulus measures sooner-than-expected. The Nikkei was down 0.01% while the Straits Times was trading flat with a negative bias. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.4% while Hang Seng was down 0.1%.

US benchmark share indices ended mixed on Tuesday as investors booked profit after gains in the previous two sessions. Further, investors adopted a cautious stance as the Fed might start withdrawing its bond buying programme on the back of encouraging economic data.

The services index of the Institute of Supply Management was better-than-expected at 55.4 in October compared with 54.4 in September.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 21 points, or 0.1%, to end at 15,618.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed 5 points lower, or 0.3% higher, at 1,762.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended flat at 3,939.86.

Sectors & Stocks

On the sectoral front, Auto, FMCG and Bankex indices were the only ones to start in the negative, down 0.1-0.4%.

Among the gainers, IT and Realty indices gained 1% each in opening deals followed by Teck, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, PSU and Power indices added 0.2-0.8%.

IT majors- TCS, Wipro and Infosys, up 0.5-1.3% were the top gainers among the Sensex-30.

RIL, Cipla, L&T and Coal India were the other notable gainers, with an uptick of 0.2-0.6%.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto down over 2% on disappointing sales numbers was the top loser.

Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, HDFC Bank and BHEL slipping 0.5-1% were the other major losers.

The market breadth was positive owing to the strength in broader markets. 579 stocks advanced while 252 stocks declined on the BSE.