Sensex opens firm at 13,649.20 pts, up by 48 pts

Mumbai, Nov 29: The BSE Sensex today opened higher at 13,649.20 points with a handsome gain of 48 points from its last close of 13,601.95 on sustained heavy speculative demand from FIIs and some domestic investors.

Sensex surged in opening trade tracking recovery in Asian markets after Tuesday's fall. Bank shares edged higher after a block deal took place in State Bank of India in the FII segment at about 20 per cent premium over Tuesday's closing price.

The BSE Sensex recorded high at 13,711.76 points in intra-day session, but it came down at 13,649.20 points during the mid-morning session. The current index is quoted high again 13,664.14 points against the last close of 13,601.95 points.

Meanwhile, S&P CNX Nifty index of National Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed flat at 3922.90. Later it moved upto 3952.40 points. But it dropped to 3922.50 points. The current index, however, looked up by 21 points and quoted at 3942.20 against the previous day's close of 3921.75.

HDFC Bank gained 1.2 per cent to Rs 1101 and ICICI Bank rose 0.9 by per cent to Rs 870.

Power generation/power utility firms edged higher. NPTC gained 1.5 per cent to Rs 152 and Reliance Energy rose 1.6 per cent to Rs 539.

Auto shares rose following reports that the government is likely to announce a cut of Rs two per litre in price of petrol and a cut of rupee one per litre in diesel. Bajaj Auto gained one per cent to Rs 2666, TVS Motors gained by 1.3 per cent to Rs 100, M&M rose 0.7 per cent to Rs 826, car major Maruti Udyog added 0.9 per cent to Rs 922 and Tata Motors rose by 0.8 per cent to Rs 817.50. The announcement of fuel price cut is likely to be made in parliament today.

Refinery shares dropped on worries of further pressure in marketing margins if the government cuts retail prices of petrol and diesel. HPCL lost 2.3 per cent to Rs 295, BPCL shed two per cent to Rs 352 and Indian Oil Corporation shed 1.7 per cent to Rs 474. A further rise in global crude oil prices also weighed on refinery scrips. NYMEX crude for January delivery rose 13 cents to USD 61.12 a barrel on Wednesday, building on this week's gains after private forecaster AccuWeather said that cold weather would sweep into the US Northeast by the weekend, ending a recent warm spell in the world's biggest heating oil market.

Software major Infosys lost one per cent to Rs 2145. Infosys ADR gained nearly one per cent on Tuesday to USD 52.49, brokers said.

UNI

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