The Sensex was trading higher by 66 points, while the Nifty gained 18 points in trade. Among the major losers were the banking sector stocks which had rallied substantially in trade. ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank were the early losers in trade.

Other Nifty losers were Jaiprakash Associates, Hindalco and Wipro. Coal India was among the top gainers after reports that there would be a special dividend paid by the company.

Jubilant Lifesciences which dropped 10 per cent on Thursday following a US FDA alert at one of its US plans, dropped another 5 per cent in trade today.

Pharma stocks saw fresh buying support in trade with notable gainers being Sun Pharma, Cipla and Lupin labs.

Mid cap stocks continued to have a good session of trade with notable gainers being Godrej Industries, Sun TV Network and Unitech.

Wockhardt which has been dropping in the last few trading sessions got some buying support and rallied 1 per cent in trade today.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading mixed after dropping sharply on Thursday. The Korean Kospi and the Singapore's strait Times gained, while the Hang Sang and the Shanghai Composite dropped in trade.

GoodReturns.in