Sensex up 96 points at 36,002 in morning trading, Nifty at 10,830

Equity benchmark indices opened higher on Thursday but investors continued to closely monitor the rising tensions between India and Pakistan.

Traders were also cautious over lingering uncertainty about the outcome of on-going US-China trade talks which can impact the sentiment globally.

At 11:15 am, the BSE S & P Sensex was up nearly 96 points to 36,002 while the NSE Nifty inched up 24 points at 10,830 level.

However, there was selling pressure in media, metal, realty and auto indices.

ONGC, Tata Motors, Vedanta, Sun Pharma and Indian Oil traded higher while Hero Motorcorp, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Cipla were in the red.

The most active stocks were Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services and Maruti.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed as investors waited to see if the United States and China can strike a trade deal on tariffs.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Wednesday it was too early to predict an outcome. That punctured some optimism that the world's most powerful economies were closing in on the deal.

Investors were also keeping an eye on the US-North Korean summit in Hanoi.

-ANI