BSE sensex opens firm at 15,655.37 pts

Mumbai, Sep 7: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index today opened higher at 15,655.37 from it's previous close of 15,616.31 and then went ahead to advance by 52.70 points to touch 15,669.01 in the morning session following an overnight gain in US stocks as a series of mixed reports on the US economy made investors more optimistic about the chances for an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty also opened marginally higher at 4,518.65 from it's previous close of 4,518.60 and soon edged higher by around 21 points to reach 4,539.15.

The market breadth was strong on the BSE, with 1412 shares advancing as compared to 723 that declined, while 75 remained unchanged. The total turnover so far amounted to Rs 903 crore. From 30-member Sensex pack, 17 advanced while the rest of them slipped, official records reveal.

India's largest private sector aluminium producer by sales, Hindalco Industries, was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Other winners included Reliance Communications and Tata Steel from the Sensex pack. Cipla, the country's third largest pharma company by sales, was the top loser from Sensex pack. Reliance Industries (RIL), Sintex Industries and GMR Infrastructure were the other losers.

Asian markets were trading mixed today. Japan's Nikkei, Hang Seng, South Korea's Seoul Composite and Shanghai Composite have slipped, however, Taiwan Weighted and Singapore's Straits Times have advanced.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 57.88 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 13,363.35, yesterday. The Standard&Poor's 500 index rose 6.26 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 1,478.55, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 8.37 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 2,614.32.

In a meeting held yesterday evening, Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at 5.75 per cent and the European Central Bank (ECB) also decided to keep its rates unchanged to 4 per cent.

Crude oil prices climbed further above USD 76 a barrel today, just about USD 2 below record highs, as tension between Syria and Israel compounded supply worries after fall in US crude and gasoline inventories. US crude gained 18 cents to USD 76.48 a barrel while London Brent crude edged up 3 cents to USD 74.80.

UNI