MUMBAI: Equity indices opened in the positive Friday, tracking gains in Asia. Leading the upmove were auto, realty and metal stocks. Oil & gas, PSUs, and IT stocks were in the red. Investors seem to be focusing on mid cap and small cap stocks.

Sensex was up 25.82 points or 0.14 per cent at 18,198.65. The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index opened the day at 18,165.49 against the previous close of 18,172.83. The 30-share index moved between 18,207.28 and 18,148.97 in the early minutes.

Nifty was at 5460.20, up 13.1 points or 0.24 per cent. The National Stock Exchange benchmark started trade at 5448.25 versus Thursday’s close of 5447.10. The 50-share index touched a high of 5460.55 against a low of 5437.20.

“Today we expect the Indian markets to open flat and remain range-bound with a negative bias through the day. FMCG, auto and realty stocks could outperform while capital goods, healthcare and oil & gas stocks look weak,” said HDFC Securities in its morning note.