The Sensex was last trading higher by 61 points, while the Nifty gained 13 points in early trade. Among the gainers in early trade were the banking stocks led by sharp gains in Union Bank and ICICI Bank. Bank of India which has been rallying in the last few days continued to gain ground today, and was trading higher by one per cent.

Software stocks were once again having a good trading session with HCL Tech, Infosys and Wipro among the early gainers in trade.

Top Nifty gainers in trade were Sesa Sterlite, Sun Pharma and Jaiprakash Associates. Stocks that lost ground from the Nifty were Grasim Kotak Mahindra and Tata Steel.

Realty stocks were also having a good session of trade with notable gainers being DB Realty, HDIL and Unitech.

State Bank of India was trading higher after reports that the bank was set to shore its capital base by raising fresh money.

Sesa Sterlite was in the limelight in trade today after reports that the Supreme Court has permitted the company to resume iron ore mining at Chitradurg in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading significantly higher ahead of the new year. Among the markets that were trading with substantial gains included the Japanese Nikkei, The Jakarta Composite and the Taiwan Weighted.

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