Sensex opens firm at 14,124.36 pts

Mumbai, Feb 1 (UNI) The BSE Sensex today opened firm at 14,124.36 points with a modest gain of around 34 points from its last close of 14,090.92 points on fresh speculative demand from FIIs and mutual funds, brokers said.

The market opened firm on firm Asian bourses, higher overnight closing of Indian ADRs and the US Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates steady.

Later, the Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) Sensitive Index(Sensex) was up 77 points, at 14,168. It rallied as many as 111.13 points, to a high of 14,202.05, at the onset of trading.

Meanwhile, the S&P CNX Nifty index of NSE resumed flat at 4,083.40 points. Later, it recorded a high at 4,110.25 and a low at 4,082.40 points. The current Nifty index is quoted high at 4,087.55 points with a modest gain of five points from the previous day's close of 4,082.70.

ACC rose 1.6 per cent to Rs 1,036.70, on expectations of strong December 2006 quarter numbers. ACC will unveil Dec-2006 quarter results today. Tata Motors hiked 1.5 per cent to Rs 891.25.

ITC gained 1.3 per cent to Rs 176. During trading hours yesterday, ITC reported strong Q3 results.

Reliance Communications increased 1.2 per cent to Rs 466.65.

Reliance Communications (RCL) said yesterday its board had approved a foreign listing of subsidiary, Flag Telecom.

Reliance Energy gained 1.1 per cent to Rs 519.60, after the company said yesterday it had bagged two orders aggregating Rs 4,157 crore.

ONGC hiked one per cent to Rs 912.70. On Tuesday, ONGC reported 20 per cent growth in net profit for the Dec-2006 quarter.

Tata Steel lost 1.7 per cent to Rs 456. The stock had plunged 10.6 per cent to Rs 463.95 yesterday after winning Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus Group in an auction held in London. Tatas will pay USD 12.1 billion for the Europe's leading steel producer. The price is said to be expensive and may put under strain Tata Steel's finances at least in the short term.

Hero Honda was down 0.3 per cent to Rs 715. The company reported 19 per cent growth in sales to 2.97 lakh units in January 2007 compared to 2.49 lakh units in January 2006.

Asian stocks edged higher after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent, and abstained from voicing new concerns about inflation, signaling that a rate hike this year was less likely. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore and were up between 0.5 - 1.4 per cent.

US stocks rallied on Wednesday boosted by the Fed's decision. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 98.38 points, or 0.79 per cent, to end at 12,621.69 -- just marginally below the record close of 12,621.77 set on 24th Jan 2007.

The Standard&Poor's 500 Index gained 9.42 points, or 0.66 per cent, to finish at 1,438.24.

The NASDAQ Composite Index advanced 15.29 points, or 0.62 per cent, to close at 2,463.93. After the Fed's decision, the Dow hit an intra-day record of 12,657.02, brokers added.

UNI