Sensex scales new summit, hits 10,300-mark; Inox debuts

Mumbai, Feb 23 (UNI) Extending their bull run ahead of the Union Budget, stock markets opened firm as benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) crossed the historic 10,300-mark barrier for the first in the morning trade.

The 30-share Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened 44 points up at 10,268 and touched a new high of 10,301.24 in the first hour of trading. The key index was trading at 10,298, a gain of 74 points, at 1052 hrs.

However, banks and health care sectors were trailing marginally.

The counters trading with good gains were FMCG, PSU, capital goods, metals and PSUs.

Small and midcap companies were also trading in black with moderate gains.

Top Sensex gainers were NTPC, HLL, Larsen&Toubro, Tata Steel, ITC, Reliance Energy, TCS, ONGC, Satyam Computer, Bharti Tele.

The blue chips trailing on the Sensex were HDFC, SBI, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr Reddy's Lab,Grasim Industries, and Infosys Technologies.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE)'s broader Nifty index opened flat at 3,050.85 and touched a high of 3,071 points in the first hour of trade.

The 50-share Nifty was trading 16 points up at 3,066 at 1115 hrs.

Inox Leisure Ltd made its debut on the stock markets today with more than 50 per cent premium. It opened at Rs 185 per share against the fix issue price of Rs120 per share of Rs 10 value on the BSE.

The scrip touched a high of Rs 200 and a low of Rs 175 during the first hour of trading. On BSE more than 73.28 lakh company shares changed hands.

On NSE, the Inox scrip opened at Rs 172 and touched a high of Rs 194.80 and was trading at Rs 188.85 around 1105 hrs with gain of 57 per cent or Rs 68.85. The volume was big on NSE too with 1.15 crore shares of the company worth Rs 213.14 crore traded so far.

The crude oil prices were unchanged at 61.10 per barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) which may not bother markets much today.

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