Sensex gains 42 points in opening trade, above 26,000 level

Stock markets got off to a positive start in the final session of 2015, with the benchmark Sensex recovering over 42 points to trade above the 26,000-mark on selective buying by funds as well as investors.
In addition, short-covering by speculators in view of December monthly expiry in the futures and options space supported the upside. Today is the last trading session of December contracts in the derivatives segment.
The 30-share index rose 42.25 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 26,002.24, with stocks of healthcare, consumer durables, IT and metal sectors leading the recovery.
The barometer had lost 119.45 points in the previous session on year-end profit-booking and a mixed global trend.

The broad-based NSE Nifty too regained the 7,900-level by rising 13.25 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 7,909.50.
Dr Reddy's, Coal India, Infosys, Tata Motors, Lupin, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, Sun Pharma and Wipro were among major gainers, which helped the indices.

However, Hindustan Unilever, ONGC, NTPC, SBI and Axis Bank eased up to 0.75 per cent.
The global market threw up a mixed picture.
During 2015, the Sensex dropped about 5.5 per cent while the Nifty was down 4.5 per cent.
In the rest of Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.27 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.04 per cent. Shanghai trended down 0.53 per cent in early trade today.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.66 per cent down yesterday.