Sensex trades higher on positive global cues

Mumbai, Aug 19 (IANS) Indian equity benchmarks opened in the green on Monday, following positive sentiments in global markets.At 9:40 a.m., Sensex was up 200 points or 0.25 per cent at 80,636 and Nifty was up 80 points or 0.33 per cent at 24,621.

Broader market trends remain positive. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 1,784 shares are in the green and 389 in the red.Nifty midcap 100 index is up 409 points or 0.71 per cent at 58,068 and Nifty smallcap 100 index is up 1.46 per cent at 18,705.Among the sectoral indices, PSU bank, fin service, metal, realty, pharma, energy and infra are major gainers. Auto is the only laggard in NSE indices.In the Sensex pack, NTPC, SBI, Tata Steel, Titan, ITC, Reliance, Wipro and Bajaj Finance are top gainers. M&M, Nestle, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank are top losers.

Choice Broking analyst said: "After a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 24,500 followed by 24,450 and 24,350. On the higher side, 24,700 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,750 and 24,800."

"The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 50,500, followed by 50,300 and 50,200. If the index advances further, 50,800 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 50,900 and 51,100," he added.

Mixed trading is taking place in Asian markets. Tokyo and Seoul are in the red. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok are in the green mark. US markets closed with gains on Friday. Crude oil benchmark Brent crude was at $79.58 per barrel and WTI crude at $75.41 per barrel.The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers on August 16 as they bought equities worth Rs 766 crore, while domestic institutional investors also bought equities worth Rs 2,606 crore on the same day.