The bout of volatility seen in the last few trading sessions was absent in early trade, as markets began the day on a more steady note.

The Sensex was trading with gains of 72 points, while the Nifty was up 16 points in trade. Infosys continued to lead gainers with the stock up another 2 per cent, after the company reported a superb set of quarterly numbers. A host of brokerages have upgraded the target price on the stock.

Indices

Stocks that lost ground in early trade from the Nifty were Bajaj Auto and Cipla. Banking stocks continued to be weak in trade with ICICI Bank, PNB and State Bank of India among the early losers in trade.

Oil and gas stocks continued were also weakish in early trade with ONGC and Gail among the early losers as crude oil prices continued to fall. Heavyweight, Reliance Industries supported the market with gains of one per cent.

Meanwhile, markets across Asia were trading with gains on solid closings across the US markets and even as most of Asia was trading wit gains.

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