Stock market opens on positive note; 50 pts up

Mumbai, Feb 7: The BSE Sensex advanced smartly by over 50 poitns in the morning session, as pivotals recovered on renewed buying support 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 being traded at 14,528.68 points, showing a gain of 59.69 points from the previous close.

The S&P Cnx Nifty index at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) too advanced by 9.05 points at 4,207.25 points in the morning trade, dealers said.

Contrary to the trend in the world markets, the Indian markets posted a moderate recovery after a brief nervousness they witnessed yesterday.

Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday. Key benchmark indices in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were down between 0.2 - 0.9 per cent.

Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Singapore were up between 0.17 - 0.44 per cent.

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 the 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 PSU Hindalco was the frontrunner among the gainers. The scrip advanced by Rs 2.25 to Rs 176.55 followed by Grasim registering a smart recovery of 31.60 points at 2,824.50. Among others, Bharati Airtel, ICICI Bank, ACC too posted moderate gains.

Reliance Communication, which suffered losses on profit booking in the previous trade, gains smartly this morning. FMCG leader Hind Lever, Index heavy=weights, Infosys, Ranbaxy and Bhel too aided the uptrend.

Among the top losers, HDFC lost sharply by Rs.16.40 to Rs 1783 followed by Tata Motors declining by Rs 6.70 to Rs 914.

State run SBI, Auto major Maruti Udyog, ONGC, Reliance, Dr Reddys lab turned out major losers in the morning trade.

UNI