Among the early Nifty losers in trade were software stocks including the likes of Infosys, TCS and Wipro. Other stocks that lost ground from the Nifty were ITC and Bharti Airtel. Shares in Bhushan Steel tanked 20 per cent after links to a bribery scandal associated with the Syndicate Bank CMD.

Bharti Infratel fell 6 per cent after reports that Bharti Airtel was planning to sell shares in its tower business unit Bharti Infratel via stock exchanges at a floor price of Rs 250 per share.

Sensex stocks that gained in early trade were Reliance Industries, Coal India, Larsen and Hindalco. IDBI Bank which reported a poor set of quarterly numbers continued to drop lower in trade and was down one per cent.

Mid cap stocks continued to gain ground with stocks like IFCI, Tata Chemicals and SAIL trading higher.

GMR Infra was trading higher after reports that the company is looking to sell its aircraft maintenance facility after buying out its partner's stake in it.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading higher led by gains in the Shanghai Composite and the Hong Kong's Hang Sang.

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