Sensex trades 34 pts lower, REVL trades at Rs 44 on debut

Mumbai, Feb 24 (UNI) The Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) benchmark index was down in the afternoon by 34 points to 10,209 as compared to its last close.

Banking scrips were the major gainers in the afternoon session today and were led by Canara Bank with a 5.88 per cent rise. Bank of India rose 5.34 per cent, Andhra Bank rose 4.93 per cent, Bank of Baroda was higher by 4.19 per cent while Indian Overseas Bank was up 3.96 per cent.

Index heavy weight SBI was also up by 2.39 per cent and ICICI Bank rose marginally.

Earlier the 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened higher at 10,256 points as compared to last close at 10,244.

The key index touched a high of 10,271 before dipping to a low of 10,177 in the intra-day trading.

BSE indices of Infotech, FMCG, auto and health care sectors were trading in the red. However, bank, capital goods, consumer durables and PSU counters were up.

BSE smallcap index was down by 0.17 per cent and midcap index was up by 0.40 per cent.

Top Sensex gainers were SBI, Gujarat Ambuja Cements, Larsen&Toubro, Grasim Industries, Tata Power, Tata Steel, NTPC, Reliance Energy, ICICI Bank and ACC.

Top losers were Dr Reddy's Lab, HLL, Hero Honda, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, ITC, Satyam Computers, HDFC Bank, Bharti Tele and Cipla.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange S&P CNX Nifty index opened flat at 3,061 this morning.

However, Nifty dipped by eleven points to a low of 3,050 at 14:18 hrs after rising to 3,072 in mid-morning trading.

Reliance Energy Ventures Ltd (REVL), an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Company, made its debut on the bourses today.

REVL's Rs 10 share opened at Rs 48.90 on the NSE and dipped to a low of Rs 42.85. REVL was trading at Rs 44 at 14:24 hours.

The volumes were high with 1.22 crore shares traded so far on the NSE.

On the BSE, REVL, demerged from Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, opened at Rs 45.7 and touched a high of Rs 46 and a low of Rs 42.9. It was trading at Rs 44 around 14:00 hrs with 73.75 lakh shares traded on the BSE.

As a part of restructuring process presently on in the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG), REVL has announced it will merge with Reliance Energy Ltd.

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