The key benchmark indices were flat in the early trades amid mixed cues from Asian equities markets. The Sensex rose 46 points to 15,444 and the Nifty gained 15 points to trade at 4,608.

Realty, metal and consumer durable stocks rose today while IT counters were under some pressure. The BSE realty index was up 0.9 per cent and the auto index rose 0.8 per cent.

In the Sensex pack, Sterlite Ind was the biggest gainer. The stock rose 1.4 per cent. Hindalco, L&T and RCom were up over 1 per cent each.

Sun Pharma and Grasim Ind, however were trading lower.

In US markets, investors moved back into stocks after a four-day slide on hopes that a key government report on unemployment will confirm that the economy is gaining strength.

The Dow rose 63.94, or 0.7 percent, to 9,344.61. The S&P 500 index rose 8.49, or 0.9 percent, to 1,003.24, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 16.13, or 0.8 percent, to 1,983.20.

Asian markets, however, were trading mixed on Friday. While South Koreas Kospi and Japans Nikkei were trading in the red turf, Chinas Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose over 0.2 per cent each.