Markets open strong

The markets opened on a positive note with the Sensex up 61 points at 18,202 and the Nifty gained 15 points to start the day at 5,443. In the broader markets, the midcaps opened higher by 0.6% and the smallcap index gained 0.4%. However, the broader markets are underperforming when compared to the BSE benchmark index which is up 0.9%.

All the sectoral indices opened in the green for the day. Capital Goods and Bankex indices are leading the opening gains closely followed by Auto and Power. On the other hand, IT and FMCG, the movers on the previous day are the laggards in starting trades.The movers in the Capital goods space are L&T up 4%, Alstom Projects,Crompton Greaves and Havells India gaining between 1.5% -2%.

There are no losers among the Sensex-30 stocks in the opening trades.

The top gainers among the Sensex stocks are L&T up nearly 4% on the back of stellar Q4 numbers followed by Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, Reliance Infrastructure, ONGC, Reliance Communication, HDFC and Hero Honda gaining between 1-2%

The market breadth is very positive. Of the total 1744 syocks traded on the BSE, 1101 stocks have advanced while 559 declined.