Markets open positive ahead of Dec F&O expiry

Benchmark indices have started the trading session on a marginally positive note ahead of December F&O expiry today.

By 9:25, the Sensex was higher by 38 points at 21,071 mark and the Nifty gained by 9 points at 6,277 levels.

The market will remain volatile today as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month December 2013 series to January 2014 series.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 40.67 crore on Tuesday, 24 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

On the global front, US stock markets remained closed on Wednesday for Christmas.

Tokyo's Nikkei share average climbed 0.9% to a more than six-year high on Thursday, with buying mostly by retail investors as tax-free investment accounts aimed at driving Japanese savings into stocks kicked off.

The Nikkei was up 145.99 points at 16,155.98 in mid-morning trade, after closing above 16,000 for the first time since December 2007 on Wednesday.

The government-sponsored investment plan, known as Nippon Individual Savings Account, will provide a five-year tax holiday on dividends and capital gains provided the money is invested in stocks, mutual funds or exchange traded funds.

Back home, BSE Consumer Durables and Healthcare indices gained by nearly 1% each followed by counters like Capital Goods, Power, Oil & Gas, Metal and Auto, all gaining marginally. However, BSE Realty index is trading slightly negative.

The main gainers on the Sensex at this hour include Sesa Sterlite, ONGC, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Coal India, BHEL, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors.

On the losing side, Hero Moto, Hindalco, Wipro, SBI and Maruti Suzuki have declined between 0.2-1%.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by nearly 1% each.

The market breadth in BSE remains firm with 688 shares advancing and 207 shares declining.