Know how the Markets opened today

The Nifty hit a 3-month high on early deals on Thursday as traders continued with the previous day's upward momentum on blue chips stocks such as Coal India even as overseas cues and commodity markets gave little in terms of a firm trend.

The Nifty rose 31 points to quote at 8,554 levels in the first 20 minutes of trade. The Advance-Decline Ratio stood at 35:15 with Asian Paints, BPCL, Yes Bank and HDFC gaining in early trades. Those on the slippery slope were Cipla, NMDC and cement giants Ambuja as well as ACC.

Meanwhile, on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex consolidated further above the crucial 28,000-point mark. It rose 132 points, or 0.5 percent, to 28,331 points in early deals. Gainers were lead by Axis Bank, Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto while GAIL, Cipla and Mahindra & Mahindra dipped in initial trades.

The Bank Nifty added 107 points at 18,924 as traders ramped up lenders. Stocks that hit fresh highs included Coal India, Dr. Reddy's, HPCL and Indian Oil Corp.

The wider Advance-Decline Ratio was 1,134 gainers to 341 shares that lost ground, indicating the firming up of a bull grip on the markets.

The mood was equally bullish on other indices as well. The CNX Finance and CNX Metal Indices were the top gainers with a rise of 0.7 percent each.

(Image credit: Indiatimes)