The Sensex was trading 10 points higher at 20,221 points, while the Nifty gained 3 points in trade. Banking stocks continued to rally on hopes of a rate cut by the RBI with Bank of Baroda gaining 1.24 per cent, while ICICI Bank was trading higher by 1.25 per cent. Among the other gainers from the banking space were Yes Bank and Union Bank of India.

Realty stocks were also in the limelight with Anant Raj Industries, HDIL, Unitech and Sobha Developers all trading higher.

IRB Infrastructure rose more then 6 per cent after the domestic road builders on BOT mode, said its net profit grew by 25.57 per cent to Rs 151.13 crore on consolidated basis for the fourth quarter.

Bajaj Finance jumped to a 52-week high after the non-banking finance company (NBFC) reported a 52 per cent rise in net profits.

Jammu and Kashmit Bank on the other hand also rose 2 per cent after the bank registered 20 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 250 crore for its fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013.

Top gainers from the Nifty in early trade were Dr Reddy's Labs, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India., Reliance Infra, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Jaiprakash Associates.

Among the top Nifty losers in early trade were Lupin, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, NMDC and Coal India.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading in the green, except the Japanese Nikkei which shed ground on profit taking.

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