The Sensex was trading at 25,454, a gain of 96 points over Thursday's close, while the Nifty was up 23 points in early trade.

Leading the set of gainers in trade were metal stocks like Hindalco and Sesa Sterlite, while other stocks that rallied in trade were Reliance, HDFC, Hero Motor Corp and Larsen.

PSU banking stocks continued to show recovery for a second day in a row with notable winners being Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank of Commerce. Private sector banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were also among the gainers.

Shares in Ranbaxy were trading lower on reports of possibility of tax fines to be levied by one of the states in the US. Shares in Canara Bank were trading higher on reports that the bank plans to sell its sticky loans.

Mid cap stocks were also showing smart gains with IFCI, GMR, Jubilant and NHPC among the gainers. Nifty stocks that lost ground in trade were Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and United Spirits.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading flat, while the US and European markets closed sharply higher on Thursday.

GoodReturns.in