Sensex gains 99 points in opening trade

Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) The Sensex gained by over 99 pointsin opening trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)today onsustained buying by funds, taking cues from other Asianmarkets but investors remained cautious ahead of the RBImonetary policy.

The 30-share index of the BSE, which gained almost 144points in the previous session, rose further by 99.02 points,or 0.51 per cent to 19,250.30, with stocks of metals, auto andcapital goods sector leading the rise.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National StockExchange Nifty index moved up by 29.25 points, or 0.50 percent to 5,772.50 points in the first few minutes of the trade.

Brokers said firming trend on the other Asian boursesfollowing overnight gains in the US market, and better thirdquarter earnings by leading corporates, mainly influenced thetrading sentiment.

However, they said, investors were cautious on fears thatthe Reserve Bank of India may announce a hike in interestrates in its monetary policy to be announced today.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong''s Hang Seng was up 0.68 percent, while the Japan''s Nikkei rose 0.94 per cent in themorning trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended0.92 per cent higher in yesterday''s trade.