Positive start to the day at Dalal Street. Will it hold on to it?

Indian stocks got off to a modestly positive start on Wednesday as traders latched on to blue chips in early deals after strong overnight cues from Wall Street and a tick of green across Asia.

Meanwhile, a cautious mood is likely to prevail in the coming days as traders and investors decipher the US Federal Reserve's stance on interest rates. Bear in mind that the US Fed's decision will be made late evening today and Indian markets are shut for a local holiday on Thursday. So today's action is all that investors have to hedge their portfolios against the Fed's move. The rise in US interest rates, if it happens, will be the first in more than 9 years. The last rate rise happened in 2006. Markets will react cautiously to the continuous fall in India's monthly exports, now down 21 percent for the month of August, as global demand for India's products slips.

The Nifty rose 49 points to 7,878 in initial trades. The Advance-Decline Ratio at 45/4 favoured the bulls with the risk-on trade in metal stocks continuing. Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Cairn and Yes Bank were the top gainers on the Index while Reddy's, Larsen, BPCL, Power Grid and Cipla fell in early deals. TVS Motors, Sun Pharma and Infosys were the top three traded stocks on the National Stock Exchange.

Broader indices edged up in early trades. The CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500 Indices were up 0.5 percent and sector-specific benchmarks were in fine shape as well. The Bank Nifty and CNX PSU Bank Index gained ground. CNX Pharma, CNX Metals and CNX Realty Indices posted smart gains.

The sentiment was equally good on the Bombay Stock Exchange with the Sensex gaining 164 points to 25,870. The Advance-Decline Ratio was a strong 28/2 on the index where Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, ITC and TCS were strong gainers. Larsen, on the other hand, slipped in trade.

All sectors, except for Capital Goods, were in the green in the futures and options market. The strongest gains were seen in the realty space with technology, telecom, media, Banking and metal futures edging up smartly in trade. TVS Motor, Divi's Labs and Adani Power were on the top gainers list while IFCI, Apollo Hospitals and Amtek Auto fell in initial deals.

Ruchi Soya, TVS Motor, Sezal Glass and Orchid Chemicals figured on the top volume buzzers list on the National Stock Exchange.

(Image credits: Indiatimes)