Markets surge higher in early trade

Mumbai, Aug 31: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex today opened higher at 15,131.36 from it's previous close of 15,121.74 and soon went ahead to surge by 214.99 points in the early session to touch 15,336.73 as buying continued in index pivotals, aided by fresh build-up of positions in the derivatives segment for next month's series, robust gross domestic product (GDP) growth, easing of political turbulence and firm Asian markets.

''Reliance Industries has hit an all time high of Rs 1,965. All the Asian markets were trading higher today. The turnover on BSE is healthy on fresh buying,'' market men observed.

Official data today showed that India's economy in the April-June quarter grew at 9.3 per cent from a year earlier, led by robust manufacturing and services. Manufacturing grew an annual 11.9 per cent in the April-June quarter, lower than the 12.4 per cent in the previous quarter. Services grew at an annual pace of 10.6 per cent, while farming expanded by 3.8 per cent. India's economy grew 9.4 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March this year, its fastest rate in 18 years. The central bank has set a target of 8.5 per cent growth for this fiscal year.

Meanwhile, the UPA and the Left yesterday agreed on a compromise formula and also agreed on the formation of a committee to look at Left objections to the 123 agreement. The committee will look into certain aspects of the bilateral agreement including the implication of the Hyde Act on the 123 agreement, self reliance in the nuclear sector and the implication of nuclear agreement on foreign policy and security cooperation.

Among the broader markets, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty opened marginally higher at 4,412.60 from it's previous close of 4,412.30 but then went ahead to notch up 54.60 points to reach 4,466.90 .

Official records reveal that the market breadth is strong on BSE, with 1,613 shares advancing as compared to 711 declining, while 50 remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-cap index was up 1.36 per cent to 6,573.56, while the BSE Small-Cap index rose 1.01 per cent to 8,038.19. The total turnover here amounted to Rs 1,727 crore so far.

All the sectoral indices on BSE have gained. From the Sensex pack, 28 were trading higher while only two declined.

The early gainers include NTPC, Reliance Industries, Mahindra&Mahindra and Tata Motors, while HDFC Bank was the top loser from Sensex pack.

All the Asian markets were trading higher today. Japan's Nikkei, Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Singapore's Straits Times and South Korea's Seoul Composite have all edged higher.

US stocks fell yesterday, on mounting concerns that credit market upheaval will erode profits and hold back consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrial average, the Standard&Poor's 500 Index are in the red, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up.

Crude oil prices steadied today, as concerns over low oil stocks in the US were compounded by a possible tropical storm forming in the Atlantic. US crude rose 24 cents to USD 73.60 a barrel while London Brent was up 21 cents at USD 72.11 a barrel.

UNI