Sensex up 48 points in early trade

The BSE benchmark Sensex today rose by over 48 points in early trade, extending gains for the fifth straight session on continued buying by funds and retail investors.

The 30-share BSE index, which has gained nearly 332 points in the past four sessions, gained another 48.09 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 18,810.96 in the early trade with stocks of health care, IT, technology, FMCG, realty and power companies leading the uptick.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty Index moved up by 11.70 points, or 0.20 per cent, to 5,715.90.

Brokers said sustained buying activity in select stocks having strong fundamentals, mainly bolstered the trading sentiments but a weak trend in the Asian region, capped the gains on the domestic boures here.

In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.71 per cent and Japan's Nikkei Index was down by 0.44 per cent in the morning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.15 per cent higher yesterday.

GLOBAL MARKETS ROUND UP

Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange rose 0.01 percent. The MSCI-Asia Pacific index excluding Japan fell 0.06 percent.

U.S. stocks advanced modestly on Monday in light trading in one of the year's quietest sessions on the day before the U.S. presidential election.

Asian shares and the dollar steadied on Tuesday with investors' risk appetite curbed by uncertainty over the outcome of the tight U.S. presidential election and renewed doubts over Greece's political ability to push through severe fiscal reforms.

FACTORS TO WATCH

Earnings on Tuesday: Tata Power, Hindalco , Indian Hotel, Oil India.

India's inter-ministerial panel will hold a 2-day review on coal block allocations to 31 state-run companies.

INDIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

TOP NEWS

India's central bank may ease monetary policy as early as January, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Monday, as price pressures ease in Asia's third-largest economy in the first part of next year on the back of slower growth.

... contd.

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