Sensex, Nifty gain; RIL jumps nearly 7% on Jio

Domestic markets on Wednesday opened strong amid positive global cues. At 0937 hours Sensex was trading at 28,864.93, up 83.51 points or 0.29%, while, Nifty was at 8,933.10, up 25.25 points or 0.28%. 

On 30-share benchmark, among top gainers were Reliance Industries (6.64%), Axis Bank (2.75%), Asian Paint (1.09%), Coal India (0.78%) and Tata Motors (0.77%). Among top losers were Tata Consultancy Services (-1.55%), Infosys (-1.06%), ICICI Bank (-1.04%), Sun Pharma (-1.03%) and Gail (-0.81%). 

Stocks to watch:

Bharat Electronics: Shares of state-owned BEL will be in focus as the government will begin today 5% stake sale in the aerospace and defence company. The government has planned to raise about Rs 1,600 crore.

The sale of 1.11 crore shares will be at a minimum price of Rs 1,498 apiece, 4% discount to yesterday's closing price of BEL on BSE.

Axis Bank: On Tuesday there were media reports which stated that HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank have approached the Government of India to acquire Axis Bank. 

The shares of the Mumbai-based bank were the top gainer on both BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty yesterday.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories: On Tuesday, the pharma company said that the US health regulator has made three observations after the completion of inspection of its Miryalaguda plant.

Castrol India: Automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturer Castrol India on Tuesday reported a rise of 10.7% in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company's net profit increased to Rs 155.8 crore from Rs 140.8 crore. 

Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular: Shares will be under pressure after their rival Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced big plans.

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On global front, Asian stocks edged up, joining a record-setting night for world markets as investors cheered upbeat factory activity in Europe and solid earnings on Wall Street, as reported by Reuters. 

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.1%, taking its cues from the world stock index rising to an all-time peak of 446.21 overnight.

Japan`s Nikkei and South Korea`s Kospi each added 0.15%, the report added.