Sensex jumps 171 points in opening trade

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Monday opened 171 points higher on buying in banking, auto and metal stocks amid firming Asian trends.

The 30-share index gained 171.69 points, or 0.83 per cent, to trade at 18,039.98 points. The index had lost 123.71 points in the previous session.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty also regained 5,400 points by rising 51.90 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 5,419.50 points.

Brokers said buying by foreign funds as well as retail investors helped the Sensex trade above the psychological 18,000 points level. Better trends on other Asian bourses also boosted the sentiment.

Auto stocks were in keen demand after auto makers reported a significant growth in sales in July 2010. Bajaj Auto was up by 1.82 per cent to Rs 2,737, Hero Honda by 1.02 per cent to Rs 1,833.90, Maruti Suzuki by 1.02 per cent to Rs 1,210.35 Tata Motors by 1.46 per cent to Rs 858.50 and Mahindra and Mahindra by 1.21 per cent to Rs 669.50.

ICICI Bank, country's top lender in the private sector, shot up by 2.44 per cent at Rs 926.50 after it reported a 17 per cent growth in its quarterly net earnings.

Among other gainers, Reliance Industries was up by 0.79 per cent to Rs 1,017.55, Reliance Infra by 0.65 per cent to Rs 1,114.95, State Bank of India by 1.05 per cent to Rs 2,530.15, DLF by 1 per cent to Rs 304.30, Hindalco by 1.50 per cent to Rs 162.70, Tata Steel by 0.87 per cent to Rs 541.80 and Sterlite by 1.69 per cent to Rs 177.85.

The Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up by 1.37 per cent, while Japanese Nikkei by 0.47 per cent in morning trade.

TOI

Kashmir: 15 dead in four days, curfew continues

SRINAGAR: Curfew remained in force in the entire Kashmir Valley on Monday which has been hit by a fresh wave of violence since Friday.

One person identified as Tariq Ahmed, who was hit by a teargas shell three days back in Bijbehara in south Kashmir, succumbed to his injuries last night, police sources said.

With his death, the total number of people who died in the Valley since Friday has gone up to 15 which includes eight persons who were killed in separate incidents yesterday.

Security forces maintained a tight vigil across all the ten districts in Kashmir to maintain law and order, the sources said.

In New Delhi, the Cabinet Committee on Security(CCS) had met last night for the second time in a month to take stock of the situation.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister has appealed for calm and asked political parties and leaders to cooperate with the Government for return of peace in the state. He has vowed to deal sternly with law breakers and the perpetrators of violence, asserting that he will not allow them "to win".

Among those killed in protests yesterday were four civilians who had died when a mob last night set afire a police station, where explosives and a LPG cylinder were kept, triggering a massive blast in Khrew area on outskirts of Srinagar city. A fifth person succumbed to injuries later in the night while another was in a very critical condition, police had said.

A mob had also laid siege to the police station, 20 kms from here, and started pelting stones after which additional forces were rushed to the area who rescued the police personnel in the police station. Army personnel were involved in the rescue work.

Protesters had also attempted to set afire a police post in Khrew and take away the weapons. As the crowd refused to calm down, police fired at them leading to the death of a woman identified as Afrosa.

In other incidents, two persons were killed as police opened fire to disperse mobs who blocked a national highway on the city outskirts.

The situation in saffron-rich area of Pampore turned ugly when agitators blocked NH-1A at a number of places by erecting barricades from Pantha Chowk to Pampore, a police spokesman had said.

The mobs blocked the highway at Galandar, Kadlabal, Barsoo, Frastabal and Pampore and also torched office-cum- residence of a tehsildar. They set afire a police vehicle and damaged several others.

The protesters snatched weapons from local court guards and also indulged in heavy stone pelting on a police station and security personnel, the spokesman had said, adding the situation turned worse when suspected terrorists fired on the personnel from amongst them.

TOI