Sensex gains 72 points in opening trade

Mumbai, Feb 16 (PTI) The BSE benchmark Sensex rose byover 72 points in opening trade today on sustained buying byfunds, with Tata Steel attracting the most interest after itposted strong earnings results for the third quarter.

The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange rose by72.30 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 18,346.10 points in openingtrade today. The Sensex gained nearly 812 points in theprevious three sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Niftyindex gained 10.70 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 5,491.70 inopening trade today.

Traders said in addition to the strong corporate earningsposted by Tata Steel, continued short-covering by speculatorsalso buoyed the sentiment, helping the Sensex maintain itsupward journey.

Stocks of Tata Steel rose by 2.19 per cent to Rs 630.05after the company posted an over two-fold jump in consolidatednet profit to Rs 1,003.02 crore for the quarter ended December31, 2010.

Meanwhile, Japan''s Nikkei Index was up by 0.11 per centand Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index down 0.12 per cent in earlytrade today.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Index ended 0.34 percent lower yesterday.