Sensex opens 62.59 points up, Nifty at 11,888; Bharti Infratel, ITC, ICICI Bank top gainers

Market opens on a positive note on Friday. The 30-share BSE Sensex was 62.59 points up at 40,191.64, while Nifty was up 10.80 points at 11,888.30. Among major gainers include Bharti Infratel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, HDFC, Britannia, Hero MotoCorp, while losers were Yes Bank, ONGC, BPCL, Bajaj Auto and RIL.

On Thursday, Sensex reached its lifetime high in intra-day trade as investors kept the faith in IT and banking stocks amid firm global cues. After scaling a new peak of 40,392.22, the Sensex settled at 40,129.05 at closing bell.

Meanwhile, Asian shares on Friday fell in a weak start to the month and off three-month highs struck this week on fresh concerns over US-China trade prospects and ahead of US economic data, while the dollar eased against major rivals, said a Reuters report.
Chinese officials doubt that a comprehensive long-term trade deal with Washington and US President Donald Trump is possible, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

The latest blow to hopes that the world`s two largest economies will reach a deal to end their bruising nearly 16-month trade war comes despite comments from Trump on Thursday that the countries would soon announce a new site for the signing of a "Phase One" trade deal after Chile cancelled a planned summit set for mid-November.

In the currency market, the dollar was a touch stronger than the safe-haven yen, adding 0.01% to 108.03. The euro was 0.14% higher on the day at $1.1166, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.14% at 97.216 on the day.

US crude ticked up 0.33% to $54.36 a barrel and Brent crude rose 0.13% to $59.70 per barrel. Spot gold eased 0.15% to $1,510.94 per ounce.