The Sensex was trading up by 40 points, while the Nifty was up 20 points in early trade. Among the top gainers from the Nifty pack were Bharat Heavy, Gas Authority, Larsen and Toubro and Sterlite Industries.

Hindustan Unilever which saw a huge selling pressure on Thursday was trading lower by 3 per cent ahead of its results. ITC which saw a more then 4 per cent cut in its share price was trading marginally higher.

Banking stocks which have been at the receiving end ever since the RBI announced measures to prop up the rupee saw buying interest. Among the banking stocks that gained in trade were IndusInd Bank, Union Bank, State Bank of India and Axis Bank.

Punjab National Bank was trading higher ahead of its results to be declared later today.

Bata was trading higher by 3.5 per cent after the company reported better then expected results. Shares of DLF gained after reports that Dewan Housing had purchased real estate developer DLF's 74% stake in life insurer Pramerica Life Insurance Company.

Heavyweight, Reliance Industries was trading 1 per cent higher in trade, while most of the software stocks including Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys were trading flat.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading higher, except the Japanese markets which saw the Nikkei drop almost 3 per cent in trade.

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