By IANS
Mumbai : The Indian equities market opened on a firm note Friday, piggybacking on the gains on the Wall Street overnight. In the initial trade select IT and metal stocks led the rally.
The 30-share benchmark sensitive index opened at 17,610.07, 79 points higher than its previous close. Half an hour into the trade the sensex was trading almost 142 points higher at 17,688.45.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), S&P Nifty opened more or less at the same level at 5133.25 against its previous close.
Broader markets have seen a sharp cut. Both the mid-cap and small-cap indices have under-performed but recovered to trade flat. Select technology and metals stocks have shown some ability to bounce back.
US stocks rose on Thursday, as relatively cheap valuations tempted investors back to Wall Street after a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 46.90 points, or 0.38 percent at 12,247.00. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 10.46 points, or 0.79 percent at 1,336.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.28 points, or 0.63 percent at 2,293.03.
Markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan were closed today for the Lunar New Year holiday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 average was down by 0.88 percent.
Wockhardt was down by 6 percent after the Wockhardt Hospital IPO was withdrawn due to poor response. The IPO was subscribed just 20 percent by Thursday, the last day of the issue. Recently, volatility in the secondary market conditions had forced property developer Emaar MGF Land to extend its initial public offer until Feb 11 and lower its indicated price for a second time.
In the initial trade, M&M, Bharti, RPL, SBI, HDFC, Tata Power, ONGC, HUL and Unitech were among the laggards.
SAIL, Reliance Communication, Satyam, HCL Tech, Rel Energy and Nalco were among the gainers.