BSE Sensex trades firm in early trade

Mumbai, Jun 25: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex today advanced by around 41 points to cross the psychological barrier of 14,500 in early trade and striked a high of 14,512.95, buoyed by predominantly positive Asian cues.

Among the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty Index also gained marginally by 1.60 points at 4,253.65 from it's previous close of 4,252.05, after opening slightly lower at 4,251.40.

Market analysts said the market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was strong on the BSE, with over two gainers for every loser. 1,471 shares advanced while 703 declined, and 73 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose by 0.50 per cent to 6,405.39, while the BSE Small-Cap index was up by 0.89 per cent to 7,579.83. The total turnover here surged to Rs 1,436 crore and among the Sensex pack, 19 advanced while the rest declined.

The early gainers included ONGC, Reliance Energy, BHEL, NTPC, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries (RIL).

The notable losers were Hero Honda, Grasim and L&T.

Asian markets were trading mixed today after an initial fall that was caused by overnight sharp fall in US stocks on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.07 per cent at 21,985.41, while South Korea's Seoul Composite was up 0.54 per cent at 1,780.60, and Taiwan Weighted up 1.71 per cent at 8,963.42.

Japan's Nikkei 225 average was down marginally by 0.03 per cent to 18,182.30, and Singapore's Straits Times was down 0.35 per cent to 3,602.80.

US stocks tumbled on Friday, wrapping up their worst week since a global sell-off in February amid fears that trouble at two Bear Stearns hedge funds may signal worse problems lie ahead for credit markets. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 183.31 points, or 1.35 per cent, to 13,362.53. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index was down 19.50 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 1,502.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 28, or 1.07 per cent, to 2,588.96.

UNI