The Sensex gained over 57 points in opening trade today. This follows selective buying by cautious investors in the absence of any cues from other Asian markets.

The 30-share index of the BSE, which rose by 68 points in yesterday’s volatile session, moved up by 0.31 per cent, to 18,147.94 today, with metal, IT and banking stocks leading the rise.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index gained 10 points, to 5,442 points.

Asian markets are closed on account of a public holiday to mark the Lunar New Year.

However, Japan’s Nikkei was open for trade and was marginally down in the early part of the session. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.02 per cent higher on Wednesday’s trade.