Markets witness positive trades

The markets have opened on a positive note with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining by nearly 1% each. By 9:40, the Sensex was up 138 points at 17,338 and the Nifty gained 44 points to 5,271.

Industrial production data for February 2012 due later in the day today will also impact sentiment.

An encouraging start to earnings season helped US stocks rebound on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7 per cent to 12,805. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index moved up 0.8 per cent to 1,369 levels.

Asian shares eased on Thursday while the euro firmed, reflecting investor caution. Nikkei, Strait Times, Hang Seng, Taiwan and Shanghai have gained between 0.1-1%.  

Back home, the Nifty is likely to face resistance around 5,255-5,275, while it can seek support around 5,200-5,180, technical analysts suggest.

On the sectoral front, BSE Metal index has surged by nearly 2% followed by counters like Capital Goods, Power, Consumer Durable, Banks, Realty, PSU, Auto and FMCG, all gaining by nearly 1% each. Infact, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in green zone.

From the Metal space, Sterlite, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, Tata Steel and Coal India have surged between 1-2%.

Among Capital Goods segment, BHEL is the top Sensex gainer, up over 2%. L&T has gained over 1%.

Banking stocks like SBI and ICICI Bank have increased by nearly 1% each.

Auto shares like Maruti Suzuki, Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and M&M have increased by almost 1% each.

Aviatio stocks like Spicejet, Air India and Kingfisher Airlines have gained between 1-4%. The Cabinet committee on economic affairs is likely to clear a proposal to allow foreign carriers to invest in their Indian counterparts today.

The broader indices have opened firm with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining by nearly 1%.

The market breadth in BSE remains healthy with 1,042 shares advancing and 278 declining.