BSE Sensex opens at 12,484.64, up 54 pts

Mumbai, Mar 19: The BSE Sensex today resumed positive at 12,484.64 points with a modest gain of around 54 points from its previous close of 12,430.40 points on fresh speculative demand from FIIs and domestic mutual funds, brokers said.

The turn-over on BSE aggregated Rs 676 crore till mid-morning session, very much below the turn-over on a regular day. The low turn-over is attributed to a bank holiday today on account of Gudi Padwa. As a result, the settlement for trading was done on Friday (March 16) and today's was clubbed on March 21. Brokerages have advised clients that shares bought on Friday (March 16) should not be sold before the end of session.

The market traded firm and buying continued. Later, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex) was up 48.16 points, at 12,478.56. It had opened higher, at 12,484.64, and surged to 12,534.69. The Sensex's low for the day was at 12,426.66.

The Sensex opened firm, tracking Asian markets, most of which were trading in the green. The benchmark index has perked up above the 12,500 mark.

Meanwhile, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also resumed firm at 3,611.30 points. Later, it recorded a high at 3,646.00 and a low at 3,602.85 in intra-day trading. The current index is quoted high by around 40 points at 3,647.35 from its last close of 3,608 points.

PSU power generation firm, NTPC, was the top gainer, up by 1.89 per cent to Rs 142.65, on a volume of 1.33 lakh shares till this noon.

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) advanced 1.85 to Rs 1,991, on reports that is in talks with two overseas firms for nuke-technology deal. BHEL informed BSE that tentative financial performance for the financial year will be announced on April 3, at a press conference to be addressed by the chairman&managing director.

Satyam Computers (up by 1.33 per cent to Rs 435), ONGC (up by 1.76 per cent to Rs 776) and Wipro (up by 1.41 per cent to Rs 573.90) were the other gainers.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose by 0.30 per cent to Rs 1,302.20, on a volume of 1.19 lakh shares.

Cigarette major ITC was the top loser, down by 2.10 per cent to Rs 142, on high volumes of 15.62 lakh shares. Two deals of five lakh shares each were struck in the counter for an average Rs 142.25 per share in intra-day trades.

Hero Honda (down by 0.82 per cent to Rs 647), ICICI Bank (down by 0.42 per cent to Rs 807.50), and Hindalco (down by 0.40 per cent to Rs 129.10) were the other prominent losers.

Tyre maker JK Industries tumbled by 10.81 per cent to Rs 134.85, as trading resumed in the stock after a two-month suspension to give effect to a restructuring scheme. There were outstanding sell orders for 32,118 shares at the lower limit on BSE.

Abhishek Mills was trading at Rs 81.80, a discount over the IPO price of Rs 100. The scrip had listed at Rs 94, hit a low of Rs 79.40 and a high of Rs 94.80. A strong 16.88 lakh shares changed hands in the counter on BSE. Abhishek Mills (AML) has presence in two segments, yarn manufacturing through a spinning unit, which has been designated as an export oriented unit (EoU), and construction.

Investors are keenly awaiting the meetings of the central banks in Japan and the US this week, to decide on interest rates. The Bank of Japan's two-day meeting ends on Tuesday (March 20), while the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting ends on Wednesday (March 21). The Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. Analysts keenly await the Fed's accompanying statement for cues to the US economic outlook.

US crude oil rose 19 cents to USD 57.30 a barrel, after falling as far as USD 56.17 last week on worries of an economic slowdown in top consumer, the United States.

US stocks fell on Friday, as data showing strong consumer price inflation dented hopes for an interest-rate cut any time soon, while fears about the subprime mortgage crisis kept investors on the edge.

A government report showed February consumer prices rose faster than analysts estimated, while core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, matched forecasts.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 49.27 points, or 0.41 per cent, to end at 12,110.41. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index dropped 5.33 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 1,386.95. The NASDAQ Composite Index slipped 6.04 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 2,372.66.

Trading was halted today on the bourses at 1145 hrs for sun outage. It restarted at 1230 hrs. The trading time has been extended till 1615 hrs. Today is the last day for this schedule. From Tuesday, the market will close at the normal closing time of 1530 hrs, brokers added.

UNI