Sensex up 64.73 points, Nifty opens at 11936; Zee, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints gain

Mumbai: Indian indices have a positive start on Monday (December 9) with the Sensex up 64.73 points or 0.16% at 40509.88, while the Nifty up 14.80 points or 0.12% at 11936.30. Among major gainer stocks are Zee Entertainment, Maruti Suzuki, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Steel while Vodafone Idea, Bharti Infratel, Wipro, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and ITC are major losers. As many as 388 shares have advanced, and 206 shares declined, while 47 shares remain unchanged. 

Indian rupee opened lower by 9 paise at 71.29 per dollar today versus Friday's close 71.20. The US dollar held firm after data showed surprise strength in the US jobs market. The currency, however, was restrained from moving higher by worries about an escalation in the US-China trade war.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks edged up on Monday, catching some of Wall Street`s momentum after surprisingly strong US jobs data although regional gains were capped by concerns about China`s economy due to the prolonged Sino-US trade war.

Japan`s benchmark Nikkei advanced 0.3% while MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3%, with Australian stocks and South Korea`s Kospi up 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

The modest Asian gains compared with Wall Street, which rose to near record highs on Friday on a strong jobs report and some sign of optimism about US-China trade talks, with the benchmark S&P 500 closing within 0.2% of its peak set in late November.

US job growth increased by the most in 10 months in November as the healthcare industry boosted hiring and production workers at General Motors returned to work after a strike, in the strongest sign that the economy is in no danger of stalling.

The market has been largely working on the assumption that those tariffs, which cover several consumer products such as cellphones and toys, will be dropped or at least postponed, given that Washington and Beijing agreed in October to work on a trade deal.

China`s exports shrank for the fourth consecutive month in November, underscoring persistent pressures on manufacturers from the prolonged trade war, although growth in imports may be a sign that Beijing`s stimulus efforts are working.

(With Reuters Inputs)