New Delhi: Markets opened in the positive zone on Friday led by gains in index-heavyweights though Asian shares faltered.

The BSE Sensex rose 210.35 points or 0.53 percent to 39,960.20 in early trade while the NSE Nifty rose 67.85 points or 0.58 percent to 11,738.65.

Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Nestle, HCL Tech, NTPC, ONGC, Ultrachem, Tech Mahindra, RIL, Bajaj Auto, TCS, M&M, SBI and ITC, rising upto 2.13 percent. On the other hand major losers were Maruti, Bajaj Finance, Powergrid, Bharti Airel, HUL, Titan and Kotak Bank, falling upto 1.07 percent.

MSCI`s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside of Japan was last down 0.3%, on track to the end the week 1.3% lower after four straight weeks of gains. Australia`s ASX 200 fell 0.2% and New Zealand`s benchmark index faltered 0.6%. Japan`s Nikkei slipped 0.8% as did South Korea`s KOSPI index. Chinese shares were marginally higher, with the blue-chip index up 0.07%. E-Mini futures for S&P500 stumbled 0.9% in early Asian trading, a Reuters report said.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 172.61 points or 0.43 per cent lower at 39,749.85, while Nifty fell 58.80 points or 0.50 per cent to 11,670.80.

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 420.95 crore on a net basis on Thursday.