Sensex trades higher on positive global cues

Mumbai, Sep 20 : Indian equity indices opened in green on Friday following positive cues from Asian and US markets.

At 9.46 a.m., Sensex was up 82 points or 0.10 per cent at 83,267 and Nifty was up 40 points or 0.16 per cent at 25,455.

Buying was also seen in the midcap and smallcap stocks. Nifty midcap 100 index was up 313 points or 0.53 per cent at 59,665 and Nifty smallcap 100 index was up 137 points or 0.72 per cent at 19,282.

Almost all sectoral indices were trading in the green. Auto, PSU Bank, fin service, FMCG, metal, realty, energy and infra were major gainers.

In the Sensex, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Bharti Airtel, L&T, Nestle, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Sun Pharma, SBI and Kotak Mahindra Bank were top gainers. Titan, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, TCS and UltraTech Cement were top losers.

Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst at Hardik Matalia said, "After a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 25,350 followed by 25,300 and 25,250. On the higher side, 25,500 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 25,600 and 25,650."

Most of the markets in Asia are bullish. The markets of Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Bangkok are in the green. The markets of Shanghai and Jakarta are trading in the red. US markets closed in the green on Thursday.

The yen remained volatile ahead of a Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, as traders anticipated clues about potential tightening. Japan's consumer price index inflation rose as expected in August, reflecting increased consumption driven by higher wages. This reading came just before the Bank of Japan's meeting later that day.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers as they sold equities worth Rs 2,547 crore on September 19, while domestic institutional investors extended their buying as they bought equities worth Rs 2,012 crore on the same day.