Sensex Rises Over 200 Points, Nifty Trades Above 15,850

Indian equity benchmarks on Thursday traded higher in opening deals amid mixed cues from the Asian markets. Moreover, U.S. stock futures slipped in early trade today amid worries on over a recession.

Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) indicated a slightly higher start for the domestic indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 224 points or 0.42 per cent to 53,251 in early session, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 60 points or 0.38 per cent up to trade at 15,859.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a strong note today as Nifty Midcap 100 edged 0.31 per cent and small-cap climbed 0.71 per cent.

14 out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the green. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank and Nifty Metal were outperforming the NSE platform by rising as much as 0.52 per cent and 0.45 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Britannia was the top Nifty gainer as the stock soared 1.70 per cent to Rs 3,462. Tata Motors, Apollo Hospitals, Tata Steel and Maruti were also among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was positive as 1,818 shares were advancing while 586 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, SBI, Asian Paints, PowerGrid, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, IndusInd Bank and Hindustan Unilever were among the top gainers.

In contrast, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, ITC and M&M were trading in the red.

Also, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's biggest insurer and largest domestic financial investor, edged 0.11 per cent lower to trade at Rs 678.15.

Sensex had slipped 150 points or 0.28 per cent to close at 53,027 on Wednesday, while Nifty had moved 51 points or 0.32 per cent lower to settle at 15,799.