Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty50 turned cautious as investors await key macroeconomic data due later in the day, amid a weak trend in other Asian markets.

Also, sustained capital outflows and weakening rupee against the US dollar weighed on sentiments.

The benchmark BSE Sensex gained over 132 points to 34,578.39 in early trade , rising for the third straight session today on buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) amid strong global cues.

Investors are also eyeing Q3 GDP data, to be released tomorrow. Market sentiment was bolstered after a Morgan Stanley report said India’s economic recovery is expected to have gathered momentum and GDP growth for the December quarter is likely to have accelerated to 7 %, broker said.

NEW DELHI: Equity markets opened on a positive footing on Friday as Sensex and Nifty were gaining nearly half a per cent each in initial trading.

Both the benchmark indices started trading with modest gains but soon extended them with all sectoral sub-indices in the green. The midcap stocks were outperforming with the Nifty Midcap index gaining almost a per cent on Friday morning.

MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 144 points in early trade as investors turned cautious ahead of February derivatives expiry amid sustained foreign fund outflows and mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share index, which had gained 141.27 points in the previous session, slipped 144.23 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 33,700.63.

Indian stock markets inched higher following an uptick in Asian peers on Wednesday with Sensex climbing 207 points and Nifty reclaiming 10,400-mark. The benchmark Sensex rose 207.77 points to hit the day’s high of 33,911.36. Shares of the fraud-hit Punjab National Bank managed to hold the losses trading little changed at Rs 116.9, up by 0.3%.

Mumbai, Feb 20 () Stocks staged a comeback in early trade with the BSE Sensex gaining over 157 points and the Nifty recapturing the 10,400-level on buying by investors in metal, capital goods, teck and IT stocks amid a mixed trend at other Asian Markets.

The 30-share Sensex recovered by 157.24 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 33,931.90 in opening trade. The index had lost 522.81 points in the previous two sessions.

The benchmark BSE Sensex slipped below the 34,000-mark by falling nearly 131 points in early trade on Monday, extending Friday’s losses as investors cut bets amid weak domestic sentiment and absence of Asian cues.

The 30-share barometer dropped by 130.54 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 33,880.22 in early trade led by fall in Tata Steel, SBI, Reliance Industries and L&T.

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) said on Monday it will launch successor products to its flagship Indian equity index derivatives before the bourse's licence agreement with the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) expires in August 2018.

The move comes days after India's three main bourses unexpectedly announced they would stop licensing their indexes to overseas exchanges, news which hit SGX's shares as brokers cut the bourse's earnings estimates.

India’s biggest stock exchange is keen to buy a 25 percent stake in Dhaka Stock Exchange, rivaling an offer from a Chinese bourse. “We are well positioned to help grow the Bangladesh market and the exchange, given our experience and track record,” Vikram Limaye, chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange, said in a phone interview on Thursday. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange has offered 22 taka per share to buy 25 percent of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Rakibur Rahman, a director at the DSE, said by phone last week.

The benchmark BSE Sensex advanced by over 196 points in early trade today on buying by institutional and retail investors in IT, banking and FMCG stocks.

Asian markets were trading in the green following positive lead from Wall Street as investors continued to shun inflation worries.

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