By IANS
Mumbai : Capital goods, metal and oil and gas sector stocks were in demand as the Indian equities market opened with a positive gap Friday, tracking strong markets in other Asian countries.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, opened with a gain of 170.13 points at 15,840.56. Ten minutes into trading, it reached 15,879.70 with a gain of more than 185 points.
At the same time S&P Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,785.25 with a gain of 52 points or 1.10 percent compared to its close Thursday.
The market breadth was positive with modest volumes. In the initial trade 835 scrips advanced, 153 declined and 10 remained unchanged.
Reliance Energy, Ranbaxy lab, BHEL and ICICI Bank were among the gainers while Asian Paints, Hero Honda Motors and Spice Telecom were among stocks that edged lower in early trade.
Other Asian markets were also trading higher. Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.11 percent or 272.98 points to 13,218.28. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.73 percent or 177.14 points to 24,364.24. Taiwan’s Taiwan Weighted advanced 0.57 percent or 50.26 points to 8,879.66. Singapore’s Straits Times was up 0.82 percent or 25.19 points to 3,089.79. South Korea’s Seoul Composite added 0.03 percent or 0.59 points to 1,765.23.