Here's what to expect from the markets today

The Nifty gathered steam on Friday as strong overseas cues propelled the index higher for a second day on continued short covering and demand for quality stocks at beaten down prices.

The Nifty surged 116 points, or 1.5 percent, reclaiming the 8,000-point mark at 8,065 in the first hour of trade. As a consequence, the Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 48/2. Cairn, ONGC, Vedanta, Hindalco and GAIL were the top gainers on the Nifty while Ambuja Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra slipped in trade.

ICICI Bank was the top traded counter on the National Stock Exchange. Axis Bank and State Bank of India were in heavy demand as well.

Broader indices such as the CNX 100, CNX 200, CNX 500 and CNX Nifty Junior, CNX Mid Cap and CNX Small Cap gained between 1.3-1.9 percent, indicating that bulls were making a strong comeback on Dalal Street.

The sectoral indices pushed further ahead with the Bank Nifty surging 1.7 percent, or 290 points, to 17,503. Gains were across the board with CNX PSU Bank, CNX Realty and CNX Finance Indices edging higher. CNX FMCG, CNX IT and CNX Energy Indices were up in trade as well.

And on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex added 396 points, or 1.5 percent, to 26,627 points in the first hour of trade. NTPC, Hindalco, GAIL, Infosys and Vedanta were the top gainers on the Index. M&M was the lone share to lose ground on the Sensex, where State Bank of India was the top traded counter, with heavy demand seen for Tata Steel and ONGC as well.

Bulls stamped their command on the broader market with the Advance-Decline Ratio at 1,345 shares gaining versus 345 that fell.

The futures and options space was also in a smart uptrend with 148 futures advancing compared with 12 that fall. All 18 sectors showed gains for the secon day. Cairn, ONGC and Wockhardt Pharma were the top gaining futures while Dabur, Indiabulls Housing and Tata Communications fell.

Image credit: Indiatimes