Markets trade firm

Markets trade near day's high on strong cues from Europe. The Sensex is up 125 points at 18,197 and the Nifty is at 5,460, up 43 points.

Markets in Europe surged as metal stocks rose on the back of higher GDP data from Germany & France. United Kingdom's FTSE 100 index has surged 0.7% to 5,301, Germany's DAX index has risen 0.3% to 6,154, and France's CAC-40 index moved higher 0.4% to 3,633


Realty and Consumer Durable counters are top gainers, up 2% respectively, on the BSE. DB Realty has risen 5.4% to Rs 430, Acruti City & Indiabulls Real Estate are trading over 3% at Rs 533.5 & 192.7. Titan Industries is up 4.4% at Rs 2971, Rajesh Exports & VIP Industry are trading over 1.5% each from the Consumer Durable pack

The major BSE gainers are SBI, up 2.4% to Rs 2849, ITC, up 2.2% to Rs 156, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and DLF are trading over 1% each. 

The metal index is a laggard in trade, down 0.3%; Sterlite is the top loser on the Sensex, trading down 3.43% at Rs 162.  Reliance Communications, down 2% to Rs 170 and Mahindra & Mahindra, down  1%, are the major laggards.

The market breadth remains positive, with 1773 stocks advancing and 1111