Markets started marginally higher with the Sensex up 21 points at 20,047 and the Nifty added four points to open at 6,058.
In international markets, U.S. stocks gained ground Wednesday, helping the S&P 500 and the Dow hit new 5-year highs. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.49 percent, to 13,779, the S&P 500 gained 0.15 percent, to 1,495, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.33 percent, to 3,154.
Asian shares edged higher on Thursday after manufacturing data from China confirmed a recovery in the world's second biggest economy was on track, easing nervousness caused by a sharp drop in Apple Inc shares after its earnings report. Nikkei was up 0.4% along with Shanghai Composite and KLSE Composite adding 0.4-0.5%. However, Hang Seng slipped 0.2%.
In the broader markets, the smallcap index added 0.2% in the opening trades while smallcap was flat with a positive bias.
On the sectoral front, Oil & Gas, PSU, IT, FMCG and Realty indices up 0.4-1.6% were the top gainers. Meanwhile, Auto, Metal and Consumer Durables indices started in the red, down 0.04-2.7%.
The top gainers among the Sensex stocks were ONGC up nearly 4% followed by Wipro,Coal India, ITC, TCS, Infosys and Hindustan Unilever up 0.6-0.8%.
The top draggers were Tata Motors which tanked 7% in opening deals after the company said that EBITDA or operating margin for December quarter (Q3) is likely to be slightly lower than in the previous two quarters.
The other major losers were Gail India, Sterlite, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco, Mahindra & Mahindra,Tata Power, Hero MotoCorp and Bharti Airtel down 1-2%.
The market breadth was negative. 873 stocks declined while 495 stocks advanced on the BSE.
