Sensex opens firm at 13,684 points

Mumbai, Feb 26: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index(Sensex) today resumed on a firm note of 13,684.95 points compared withthe previous day's close of 13,632.53 points on expectations of liberalUnion Railway and General Budgets, along with fresh bull support, byForeign Insitutional Investors (FIIs) and Mutual funds, brokers said.

A bout of early volatility gripped the bourses and the Sensexslipped into the red soon after a firm opening. However, the benchmarkindex again recovered from the lower level to move into the green.

The Sensex was up 41 points at 13,673 and surged 90.87 points inopening trade to 13,723.40. But it soon reached a low of 13,533.81 inmid-morning session, falling 98.72 points, for the day. The benchmarkindex later came off the lower level.

The brokers hoped a cut in railway fare and less tariff levy ongoods items in the Railway budget, which will be presented inParliament this noon.

Similarly, the General budget is expected to give boost to economy and rein in the rising inflation.

Banking, cement and auto pivotals nudged higher. RIL slipped afterthe company's board approved a large issue of equity warrants topromoters.

Reliance Industries Ltd dropped 0.6 per cent to Rs 1403.15. OnSaturday, RIL unveiled a plan for an integrated cracker andpetrochemicals complex with a total capacity of two million metrictonnes per annum in the special economic zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar.

Tata Steel hiked 2 per cent to Rs 469, extending its recentrecovery triggered by firm global steel prices. As per market talks,steel makers may raise prices by Rs 1000 per tonne after the budget.

Battered cement shares edged higher on bargain-hunting, after asteep fall. Grasim rose 2 per cent to Rs 2319, Gujarat Ambuja Cementsgained 1.7 per cent to Rs 125, and ACC rose 1.3 per cent to Rs 928.

Bank shares recovered. ICICI Bank gained 1.3 per cent to Rs 920.

ICICI Bank on Friday said it had raised lending and deposit ratesfor new retail customers by 50 basis points to help maintain its netinterest margins. There is no change in lending rates for corporates,and the new rates will be applicable only to new customers. The ratehike will help it maintain the net interest margin, which was 2.6 percent for the December 2006 quarter.

State Bank of India (SBI) gained 1.8 per cent to Rs 1078 and HDFC Bank gained 1 per cent to Rs 967.

Auto shares too recovered on bargain-hunting after a recent steepfall. Car major Maruti Udyog gained 1.4% to Rs 876, and Tata Motorsgained 1.2 per cent to Rs 825.

Asian markets were mixed today. The key benchmark indices in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan were up between 0.02 and 1.2 per cent.

The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Singapore were down between 0.2 and 0.9 per cent, brokers added.

UNI