Sensex, Nifty open strong; GAIL, BHEL top gainers

The market on Friday opened February Futures and Options (F&O) series on a strong note with the Nifty above 8600. It traded up 22.05 points or 0.3 percent at 8624.80 while the Sensex traded up 122.76 points or 0.4 percent at 27830.90.

Shares such as GAIL, BHEL, ICICI Bank, TCS and Sun Pharma were top gainers while Wipro, Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin and Tata Steel were losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 10 paise at 68.18 per dollar on Friday versus Wednesday's closing of 68.08.

According to the market analysts, the dollar index has recovered from seven week lows, so there is a possibility of the USD-INR to trade in a range of 68.05-68.25/dollar.

Asian markets were trading positive in early morning trade. Nikkei was up over 0.30 percent as investors digested better-than-expected inflation data.

December core consumer prices fell 0.2 percent year-on-year, at its slowest since February.

In the US, equities closed mixed after hitting new record highs, as investors digested several key earnings reports.

The Dow Jones rose about 30 points, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains, hitting a new record high and holding on to its 20,000-level.