Markets Trade on a Positive Note Above the 20K Mark

The Global Markets opened positive this morning. Most U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poors 500 Index to a two-year high, as analysts raised price estimates or ratings on companies from Amazon.com Inc. to Huntington Bancshares Inc. and energy shares rallied. European stocks rose, erasing losses that followed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s 2008 bankruptcy, amid speculation that the economic recovery is strong enough to withstand the region’s sovereign-debt crisis. This morning Asian stocks rose as commodity prices advanced and a Federal Reserve official said U.S. economic growth next year may be stronger than some economists forecast, boosting confidence in a global economic recovery. In commodities, Oil rose on speculation U.S. economic growth will accelerate next year, bolstering demand in the world’s biggest oil-consuming country. Gold advanced for a third day as European sovereign-debt concerns increased demand for the precious metal as an investment haven, with holdings in exchange-traded products climbing to an all-time high. Copper advanced for a third day from London to Shanghai on optimism the economic recovery in the U.S. remains on track, boosting the demand outlook for the metal amid supply disruptions at the world’s third-largest copper mine. The markets have built on their early gains; the Sensex has surpassed the 20k mark yet again, gaining 172 points at 20,061 and the Nifty is up 47 points at 5,994. The main gainer is the Banking index trading in green gaining more than two percentage points followed by Metal and Consumer Durable indices gaining more than one percentage points.