Sensex shoots up by 100 pts in afternoon trade

Mumbai, Feb 7 (UNI) The BSE Sensex shot up by 100 points in the afternoon trade, as pivotals extended their gains on sustained buying spree from institutional investors today.

The 30-stock BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened firm at 14,493.56 points, scaled high by surpassing the 14,500 level at 14,530.49 points before touching the low of 14,478.45 points. The benchmark index of the BSE currently trading at 14,578 points, showed a gain of 100 points from its previous close.

The S&P CNX Nifty index at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too gained by 18 points at 4,209 points from the previous close in the afternoon trade.

Dealers attributed reversal in the trend to Indian bourses as unexpected since it was contrary to the trend in the world markets.

Asian markets were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were down.

The Nikkei was down 114.54 points at 17,292.32. Its lowest close since Jan 17. The broader TOPIX index fell 0.23 percent to 1,728.36.

On the second consecutive day, US stocks looked lethargic, as crude oil prices failed to reach USD 60 a barrel, lifting overall sentiment and offsetting earlier weakness in technology sector.

For Tuesday (6 February, 2007), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 4.57 points at 12,666.31, Nasdaq higher by a marginal 0.89 points at 2,471.49.

Back home at the BSE, Aluminium the rally was fuelled by smart rise in Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, Sail, Grasim, Infosys and Hindalco.

The top losers in the afternoon trade included ONGC, Tata Motors.

UNI