Sensex opens in the red at 15413.15 points

Mumbai, Sep 10: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex today opened in the red at 15413.58 from its previous close of 15590.42 following a sell-off in US stocks in its last trading session, after data showed US firms cut 4,000 jobs last month.

''The market has staged a recovery from lower levels as buying emerged in index pivotals especially Reliance Industries. By end of the first session, it is down by only 42.04 points at 15548.38,'' market players said.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) S&P CNX Nifty was also down by around 18 points, at 4491.85 after opening weaker at 4506.85 from its previous close of 4509.50.

At the BSE, 1,455 shares advanced as compared to 1,044 that declined, while 54 remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap Index rose 0.34 per cent to 6874.73 while the BSE Small-Cap Index gained 0.80 per cent to 8500.62 . Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The total turnover so far amounted to Rs 1391 crore. From 30-member Sensex pack, 19 slipped while the rest advanced, official records show.

ONGC, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Satyam Computers are in the red, while the winners include ITC, NTPC, Reliance Energy, Ambuja Cements and Reliance Industries (RIL).

Asian markets were weak today. Japan's Nikkei was down 2.02 per cent at 15796.62, Hang Seng was down 0.55 per cent at 23,850.94, Seoul Composite was down 2.58 per cent at 1836.28 and Straits Times was down 1.64 per cent at 3431.7. However China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.67 per cent to 5312.66, after initial weakness.

US stocks tumbled on Friday, following weak job data. Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked 249.97 points, or 1.87 per cent, to 13113.38. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index lost 48.62 points, or 1.86 per cent, to 2, 565.70.

UNI