Sensex recovers 39 points on F&O expiry

Market benchmark Sensex went up by about 39 points in early trade on Thursday on selective buying amid expiry of December futures and options (F&O) contracts even as Asian cues remained mixed.

Covering-up of pending short positions with Thursday being this year's last session of the expiry in the derivatives segment supported the upside, traders said.

The 30-share index, which had shed 2.76 points in the previous session, recovered by 38.76 points, or 0.15%, at 26,249.44.Oil and gas, IT, metal, PSU, healthcare, power, consumer durables and realty stocks were bright spots, giving sentiment a lift.

The NSE index Nifty was also trading higher by 13.85 points, or 0.17%, at 8,048.70. Globally, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.05% and Shanghai Composite edged higher 0.22% in early trade on Thursday while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.98%. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.56% lower on Wednesday.