Here's how the markets opened today!

The Nifty had a modestly positive start on Tuesday even as traders remained cautious ahead of the monthly expiry in a truncated trading week. Technology and pharma stocks were in demand in early deals, pointing to the defensive nature of the demand. Banking stocks retained their uptrend.

The Nifty rose 16 points to 7,993 points in early deals with 33 shares advancing compared with 16 that fell on the Index. Hindalco, Maruti, Power Grid, Axis Bank and GAIL were the top gainers on the Nifty while Reliance Industries, Bosch, Reddy's, Grasim and Asian Paints slipped in trade.

L&T Finance was the top traded counter on the National Stock Exchange for a second straight day after Bain Capital invested nearly 700 crore rupees in the company. Axis Bank and SKS Micro were also on the list of most traded stocks.

Bit gains were seen on the broader markets with the CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500 Indices gaining 0.3 percent a piece. The CNX Small Cap and the CNX Mid Cap Index were higher still. The sectoral space was lead by the CNX IT Index that rose more than 1 percent. Smart shades of green were seen on CNX PSU Bank, CNX FMCG and CNX Auto Indices. The Bank Nifty gained 0.3 percent.

The Sensex edged 81 points higher to 26,273 in early deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange and had 19 stocks advancing compared with 11 that slipped in trade on Tuesday. The top gainers included Infosys, Mahindra, Wipro, State Bank and BHEL while Hindalco, NTPC, Bharti and Larsen fell below their Monday's closing prices.

Axis Bank was in heavy demand on the BSE as well, taking the first slot on the top traded charts. Infosys and Larsen were the other two stocks on the top 3 most in demand on the exchange.

The broader market was dominated by the bulls at least in the first hour of trade with 1,007 stocks advancing compared with 383 that fell on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The mood was mostly bullish in the futures and options space ahead of the monthly expiry on Thursday. Infosys and Mind Tree lead the technology pack higher and all 11 futures within the pharma space reported positive gains. Wockhardt Futures were the top gainers.

Atlas Cycles, Motherson Sumi and Tata Coffee were some of the notable names on the top volume buzzers list on the NSE.

Image credit: Indiatimes