MUMBAI: Stock markets got off to a positive start in the final session of 2015, with the benchmark Sensex recovering over 42 points to trade above the 26,000-mark on selective buying by funds as well as investors.

In addition, short-covering by speculators in view of December monthly expiry in the futures and options space supported the upside. Today is the last trading session of December contracts in the derivatives segment.

The 30-share index rose 42.25 points, or 0.16 percent, to 26,002.24, with stocks of healthcare, consumer durables, IT and metal sectors leading the recovery.

The barometer had lost 119.45 points in the previous session on year-end profit-booking and a mixed global trend.

The broad-based NSE Nifty too regained the 7,900-level by rising 13.25 points, or 0.16 percent, to 7,909.50.

Dr Reddy's, Coal India, Infosys, Tata Motors, Lupin, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, Sun Pharma and Wipro were among major gainers, which helped the indices.

However, Hindustan Unilever, ONGC, NTPC, SBI and Axis Bank eased up to 0.75 percent.

The global market threw up a mixed picture.

During 2015, the Sensex dropped about 5.5 percent while the Nifty was down 4.5 percent.

In the rest of Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.27 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.04 percent. Shanghai trended down 0.53 percent in early trade today.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.66 percent down yesterday.

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